The mouse TG645 escaping, Vienna, 2006
In the Kuenstlerhauspassage, a clubbing venue, a betting office was installed by the students. There, visitors could bet on genetically modified mice that have been developed to study muscular diseases. They (the mice) were (voluntarily) running in running wheels competing with normal mice. The visitor who placed a bet on the mouse that made 300 revolutions in the wheel first had won according to the betting odd.
The animals were hosted in the University of Veterinary Medicine. A live stream showed their activities in the lab.
The collaboration of art and science students, scientists, administrators, exhibition makers, wheels, mice, cables and micro controllers gave the mouse TG645 the opportunity to show new capabilities: it escaped its cage and created offspring with a member of the competing team: beside its existence as test animal it had the chance to add another version of "being a mouse" to its laboratory animal reality.
Shared Inc. operated by xperiment!
Transgenic–mice: European Molecular Lab (EMBL), Monterotondo, thanks N. Rosenthal
© Video F. Oelberg
