And then there are the mice

Years of research is going down the drain because readings can't be made in timely fashion. And if you don't approve of lab research involving animals in the first place, this is doubly senseless. "The government shutdown is likely to mean an early death for thousands of mice used in research on diseases such as diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer's. Federal research centers including the National Institutes of Health will have to kill some mice to avoid overcrowding, researchers say. Others will die because it is impossible to maintain certain lines of genetically altered mice without constant monitoring by scientists. And most federal scientists have been banned from their own labs since Oct. 1." -- NPR