Preface
When it comes to experiments, we have to mention the miserable white mice. As professional experimental subjects, mice not only play an important role in life sciences and medicine, but also play a prominent role in food, cosmetics, industrial products and other fields.
However, among the many mouse experiments, the most shocking one should be the "Universe 25" experiment. From today's point of view, this experiment of more than a thousand days can be classified into the field of sociology.
25 The birth of the universe
Peace and development are the themes today, but before the 1950s, there were never a few wars around the world. Since the World War , mankind has finally seen how destructive the war that spreads around the world can be. Therefore, in the era of peaceful development that is about to usher in, people have begun experiments on the future of society.
Nowadays, wars no longer occur frequently; and human beings have long become the masters of the earth. With the addition of technology, no living thing except the earth can become the natural enemy of human beings.
Therefore, the United States enjoyed some enjoyment in the late 1960s: In an era of peace and prosperity, the population will inevitably grow rapidly. So what is the fate waiting for mankind on this finite earth?
Based on this idea, ecologist John Calhoun decided to use mice to conduct a mimicry experiment: Create a "paradise" with sufficient food and water sources and no natural enemies for the mice to observe them. development. So as to speculate on the future fate of mankind based on their experimental results.
Of course, the reason why mice are used for experiments, apart from their large number, is that their genetic sequences are similar to humans and their reproduction cycle is short.
Because this is John Calhoun's 25th experiment, it is also called "Universe 25".
Preparation for the experiment
In order to better present the experimental results, John Calhoun modified the living environment of the mice. He found a barn and built a square territory with a width of 2.7 meters in the middle, which was surrounded by a fence of more than one meter. The square area contains food and water for the mice. In this area, food and water will be provided unlimitedly.
Then, John Calhoun selected eight mice as the initial subjects, four males and four females.
According to John Calhoun's estimate, this experimental chamber can accommodate 3,800 mice. He believes that with the reproductive capacity of the small white mice , it will not be long before the experimental chamber is full. At that time, the fate of the guinea pig will reveal some aspects of the future of mankind.
Unexpected experimental results
In the early stages of the experiment, the development of the white mice did indeed follow John Calhoun's vision. More than fifty days later, the second generation of mice was born, and the experimental base had sixteen mice. They thrive in a wide environment and abundant food. More than three hundred days later, the number of mice reached 620.
This exponential growth trend made John Calhoun look forward to the first step he envisioned: the problem of living space. The warehouse can accommodate more than 3,000 mice, but according to this breeding trend, the mice will soon be overcrowded. In order to compete for the living environment, the mice will definitely stage a battle.
What he didn’t expect was that the reproduction rate of the white mice after that was greatly reduced, and it basically took about 145 days to double the population. However, the base number of mice has been greatly increased, and even if the time is extended, it has reached a scale of 2,200 in 560 days. All it takes is one more doubling of growth, and there won’t be enough space.
But what is even more bizarre is that the reproduction rate of mice became slower and slower after that. Only one white mouse was born within 40 days, , and then by 920 days, not a single newborn mouse appeared.
No new life is born. After the death of old mice, their number gradually decreases, and more and more people die every day. John Calhoun thought that after the population in Ghana dwindled, the mice would continue to reproduce. But he didn't expect that even if the number of rats dropped sharply, no new born rats would appear.
On the contrary, the male mice were surrounded by people of the same sex, while the female mice were in a irritable mood and stayed alone. Even if a new life is born occasionally, it will be bitten to death by a female mouse.
This magical phenomenon continued until 1588 days later, when there were more than 20 mice. Among them, the number of male rats returned to 4, and the rest were all female rats. The old and infertile male mouse announced the end of the experiment that lasted for nearly five years.
With enough space and food, the mice met their end of destruction.
What the mouse experiment brings to human beings
The destruction of the mice is related to the characteristics of the animals. As rats multiplied, strong and powerful males took over the perimeter of the fence, and food became their resource. Weak male rats lose the right to mate. In the middle and late stages of reproduction, the mouse occupying the central position loses its competitive spirit and is in a favorable environment. Its physical fitness is also getting lower and lower, so its fertility decreases.
However, As the male rats declined, the female rats took over. They do not need to rely on male rats to obtain resources, and can even become the closest existence to the fence. Therefore, male rats not only lose resources, but also lose the right to mate.
In this case, the female rats gradually lost their desire to mate, and the entire rat group ushered in extinction.
Human beings are naturally not completely similar to rats, but this experiment makes people think about whether this is the future of mankind?
We will find that the poorer the area, the more likely it is to breed offspring. However, the aging phenomenon in developed countries is becoming more and more serious. This is when society is developed enough, and human beings are like mice, losing interest in reproduction and pursuing more self-satisfaction.
At the same time, fertility rates in developing countries are gradually declining. Just like weak male rats, some people have lost their competitiveness under unbalanced living conditions, which in turn leads to late marriage or even no marriage. Not only that, even young people who get married will choose to have children later or be infertile because of the increased cost of childbearing.
It can be seen that the previous experiments have been demonstrated in humans in some aspects. If this continues, the number of humans may begin to decrease before the earth’s space is fully occupied.
Epilogue
Competition will indeed make people stronger, but when fairness is lost, those who occupy resources will gradually weaken, eventually leading to the demise of a group. Perhaps, competition in a fair environment will keep the sense of crisis alive and drive the healthy development of mankind.
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