This Issue:

Table of Contents

Cover Story

Cover Story - Spanish Version

Mini-Lesson

Comprehension Quiz

Teacher's Guide and Worksheets

Eek! An Ear!

This ear-y mouse is no pest. It's a scientific wonder. Researchers in Massachusetts are finding new ways to replace missing human body parts. As a test, they shaped an ear out of special plastic and added bits of human cartilage, the tissue that shapes our own ears.

Then they put the plastic ear under the skin of this hairless mouse. The mouse's blood supply helped the cartilage grow. Over time, the plastic melted away as the cartilage grew in the shape of a real human ear.

This mouse was specially bred to survive such research. Regular mice might get sick if something foreign were put under their skin. But this mouse will retire with just a small scar on its back after the ear is removed.

In the future, a person who is missing an ear, a nose or some other part may be able to grow a new one this way, without the help of mice.

Next: Can Toys Get Real?