The article "The Laboratory Rat: Relating Its Age with Human’s" by Pallav Sengupta reviews the relationship between the age of laboratory rats and humans. It highlights that while albino rats have been widely used in biomedical research since the late 18th or early 19th century, the precise correlation between their age and human age remains a subject of debate. The review compares the age of rats and humans at different life stages, noting that rats grow rapidly during their childhood and become sexually mature around six weeks, while humans take much longer to reach puberty at around 11-12 years. Social maturity in rats occurs 5-6 months later than in humans. In adulthood, one day in a rat is approximately equivalent to 34.8 human days, or one rat month is comparable to three human years. The article discusses various methods for determining the age of laboratory rats, including the weight of the eye lens, tooth growth, and skeletal maturation. It emphasizes the importance of considering these differences when conducting research that involves age as a critical factor. The review concludes that while rats are indispensable in biomedical research, they are not a miniature version of humans, and researchers must be cautious when correlating rat ages with human ages.The article "The Laboratory Rat: Relating Its Age with Human’s" by Pallav Sengupta reviews the relationship between the age of laboratory rats and humans. It highlights that while albino rats have been widely used in biomedical research since the late 18th or early 19th century, the precise correlation between their age and human age remains a subject of debate. The review compares the age of rats and humans at different life stages, noting that rats grow rapidly during their childhood and become sexually mature around six weeks, while humans take much longer to reach puberty at around 11-12 years. Social maturity in rats occurs 5-6 months later than in humans. In adulthood, one day in a rat is approximately equivalent to 34.8 human days, or one rat month is comparable to three human years. The article discusses various methods for determining the age of laboratory rats, including the weight of the eye lens, tooth growth, and skeletal maturation. It emphasizes the importance of considering these differences when conducting research that involves age as a critical factor. The review concludes that while rats are indispensable in biomedical research, they are not a miniature version of humans, and researchers must be cautious when correlating rat ages with human ages.