Developer Eran Lumbroso holds a mouse during a demonstration at The 2nd International Conference of Israel Homeland Security expo on November 12, 2012 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Israels Tamar Group has developed an explosives and drugs detection system, named Bio Explorer, using mice. An airport scanner style unit houses three concealed chambers, each containing eight mice. The animals are trained to run into an alarmed chamber upon substance detection.
Photo: Uriel Sinai Images/Getty
The 2,000 mice that drifted to earth over Guam Sunday hung from tiny paper parachutes, attached to cardboard, which sounds absolutely adorable until you learn their deadly truth: The dead mice, infused with acetaminophen, were being used as bait to kill brown tree snakes, an invasive species threatening Guam’s birds. Apparently, the active ingredient in Tylenol kills the snakes even in very small doses, so presenting their favorite food stuffed with it makes for a good delivery system. Bit hard on the mice, though.
