Discovered: giving rats their due, nostalgia for cave-dwelling,
shrubbery as global warming data point, and shifting the burden
of responsibility for eating cookie dough. - The lab rats
finally get their due. Poked, prodded, enhanced, given alcohol,
drugs, and subjected to pretty much everything by inquisitive
researchers, the plight of lab rats and mice often seems bleak
(even though they may be doing humanity a favor). So, is it
surprising that a new study finds them banding together and
displaying "compassion and helping other rodents"? Sure, it may
have been a shock to some scientists, as the Associated Press
informed, but rats gotta stick together. They've been through
enough over the years. Humorously, the thing that they were
helping each other with appears to have to do with fleeing their
cages: "Given a choice between munching on a tasty chocolate
treat or helping a fellow rat escape from a restraint, test
rodents often preferred to liberate a pal in need," wrote the
AFP. Lab jailbreak in the works?