Q.How are transgenic mice used in cancer research?

Step 1. An oncogene is a cancer-causing gene; researchers can introduce a particular oncogene into laboratory mice to make them transgenic for that gene.

Step 2. Mice modified this way go on to develop a specific type of cancer, corresponding to the introduced oncogene.

Step 3. By studying these mice, researchers can directly answer questions about the relationship between that oncogene and cancer development -- something that would be far harder to study only in human patients.

Step 4. Theoretically, such transgenic mice can also be used for research into cancer treatment and prevention of malignancy, since the same model animals can be treated experimentally and monitored. …

Explain the oncogene-transgenic-mouse-cancer research logic, wit …

• Describing transgenic mice generically (e.g. 'used in research') without explaining the specific oncogene mechanism that lets them model cancer. …