Down syndrome recreated in mice

Here’s one to really get the animal rights activists up in arms (as if they aren’t already). The BBC reports that scientists have been able to “introduce most of a human chromosome into mice – and create the most successful recreation of Down’s syndrome so far.” I’m not sure whether the activists will find this better or worse than the ear grown on a mouse’s back in 1999 by Joseph Vacanti. Regardless, a mouse model of the disease will inevitably lead to controversy, but more importantly, it will lead to a better understanding of the syndrome itself.