nude mouse
1
7.2
- noun
- /nuːd maʊs/
- Specialized
:
ratón desnudo
- Nude mice are frequently used in laboratories for cancer research because of their unique immune deficiencies.
- BALB/c nude mice
Examples
-
They have normal karyotypes, pass all the cell cycle checkpoints, and do not cause tumors when injected into nude mice, which lack immunity and are used to test tumor-forming potential.
Academic text (1998) -
This overall attack rate is consistent with previous outbreaks of LCMV in hamsters and nude mice at research facilities (10, 12, 13).
Academic text (2014) -
After luciferase labeling, cells exposed to different concentrations of BaP were injected into the tail veins of nude mice, which were randomly divided into four groups.
Academic text (2015) -
The scientist injected human cancer cells into nude mice to study how the tumors would grow.
-
Researchers often rely on nude mice to test new treatments due to their lack of hair and weakened immune systems.
Surface Forms
Morphology
nude + mouse
A B1 learner who knows 'nude' (hairless/naked) and 'mouse' will readily infer a hairless mouse, so the basic sense is compositionally transparent. However, the full technical meaning (a specific genetically immunodeficient laboratory mouse used in research) is specialised and not predictable from the constituents, so the expression is only partially transparent to learners.
Etymology
Nude mouse is a literal name: nude means without fur and the mouse looks almost naked. Because it has a 'weak immune system', scientists can put human cells into it to study disease and test medicines, so the phrase refers to a hairless lab mouse used in research.