Live Science: Forgetful lab rat gets Alzheimer's for the sake of science

A new group of forgetful lab rats have been created so scientists can better study Alzheimer's disease. While scientists have tinkered with rat DNA and developed models to study a host of human diseases, from cardiovascular disease to osteoporosis, a satisfactory rat model for Alzheimer's had remained elusive. Scientists were stuck with studying mice, which have a number of shortcomings compared with rats, one of which is their intelligence — they aren't as smart as rats… Making the model was no easy feat; the scientists have been perfecting it for 10 years, said study researcher Claudio Cuello, of McGill University in Montreal, Canada.