No, President Trump, they’re not “transgender mice." (But they're not "transgenic" mice either, as some scientists claimed.)
Let's clear up all the confusion.
Hi all. We’ve got three sections for you today. First, we clear up some confusion from President Trump’s speech to Congress last night. Next, my interview from yesterday with Dr. Paul Offit on vaccines. And finally, a short list of other key stories I’m following.
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President Trump told Congress that the federal government is paying for research to make “transgender mice.” That’s wrong. But his critics were incorrect, too.
Last night, President Trump told Congress that federal dollars are being spent to make “transgender” mice.
Some scientists countered online that the mice are not “transgender,” but, rather “transgenic,” referring to a genetic technique that changes the DNA of laboratory animals. Scientists create transgenic animals by inserting or deleting genes—or introducing other remarkable modifications that cover an incredible array of functions and implications. This powerful technique is used to study countless diseases and scientific questions.
Everyone is wrong.
The mice in the studies everyone is talking about were neither transgender nor transgenic.
This all started when a member of Congress made a spectacle of these studies at a hearing in February. That’s why it is quite clear which subset of studies were being referenced in President Trump’s speech. He said the government is spending $8 million on making transgender mice. The government spends hundreds of millions of dollars on projects that use transgenic mice to study dozens of diseases and biological mysteries.
If you think about it, the very notion of a “transgender mouse” is completely ridiculous. Mice can’t tell you their gender. They can’t tell you how they identify. They don’t know their pronouns. They are mice! Of course, they do have genetic sexes. And the studies being misunderstood here do indeed concern injecting sex hormones into laboratory animals like mice and monkeys. Scientists are studying the behavioral and biological effects that result from changing the hormonal profiles of these animals. Injecting female mice with testosterone does not make them transgender. It makes them masculinized. The inverse is true for male mice given estrogen or testosterone blockers.
It may be splashy and salacious, but studies like these are actually often well-worth doing for any number of reasons. Plenty of biologists can tell you why it’s important that we understand the endocrine system, the reproductive system, and related scientific questions. But let’s at least understand what is really happening in these particular labs.
In the end, we want to fund science, not cut it. To get there, I’d rather scientists spend their time demystifying why experiments involving changes in sex hormone profiles of animals are worthwhile than mischaracterizing (albeit likely unintentionally) what is actually happening in these research projects. I imagine there is a large population of taxpayers that has no earthly idea why we ought to be funding these endeavors. Worse, if you described these studies to them, I think many of them would, at least initially, not see the utility. But, through thoughtful conversations and explanations, I think many (and maybe even most) people might end up supporting science that initially seemed frivolous, if not downright off-putting.
Look, worse mistakes have been made by science communicators and I think those dunking on the President had reason to be suspicious that he got something wrong. That’s because he and his allies don’t seem to have any idea what science is or why it matters. And, yes, the President was wrong. But he was not entirely off-base, I suppose. Scientists are indeed masculinizing female mice and monkeys and feminizing male mice and monkeys. That does not make the animals “transgender,” and clearly President Trump doesn’t understand why these experiments have value. If he’s curious—and I’m sure he ain’t—I’d be glad to tell him.
Regardless, it’s always good to correct the record so that we can spend our energy on the right fights.
Here’s my three-minute video on this that I posted on Instagram…
A wide-ranging Q&A with vaccine expert and pediatrician Dr. Paul Offit.
Yesterday, Dr. Paul Offit joined me for a live Q&A on Instagram, hosted by MedPage Today. I must tell you that Dr. Offit is a true expert. He knows more about vaccines (both the science and the politics) than anyone I’ve ever spoken to. He serves on the FDA’s vaccine advisory committee—at least for now. It would shock nobody, including Paul, if RFK Jr. tried to get him kicked off.
His voice is so important. Here’s a video of our session…
Some other stories I meant to cover.
Once again, I’ve run out of time and space to get to everything. Here are some stories I’m following:
The CDC is on the ground in Texas to help fight the measles outbreak.
According to Wired (and I’d heard rumors of this from Inside Medicine readers), there seems to be a $1 spending limit on the credit cards of many federal employees. This seems to constitute another “end-around” in the Musk-Trump attack on our public health assets.
Telehealth for Medicare recipients may vanish this month if Congress does not act, according to the AARP.
Lastly, the President bragged about freezing foreign aid in his address to Congress last night. If I were directly responsible for the deaths of thousands (and maybe millions) of people, I certainly wouldn’t be bragging about it to Congress.
That’s all for now! If you have information about any of the unfolding stories we are following, please email me or find me on Signal at InsideMedicine.88.
Thanks for reading, sharing, speaking out, and supporting Inside Medicine! Please ask your questions in the comments and if you can’t upgrade due to financial considerations, just email me.
thanks for your coverage, especially on the ridiculous claim about transgender mice. i would, however, encourage you to refrain from using “masculinized” or “feminized” in reference to animal models. masculinity and femininity are human constructs (like gender) and using them to describe animals is still inaccurate… as a trans woman scientist, i once TA’ed a course where a professor used those trivialized terms in a lecture on sex differentiation. i left class that day in tears
Very clear explanation of the process where by lab animals, including mice, have had hormones injections for research purposes. OMG when will the media & the scientific communities truly be able to correct the blatten lies that Trump states?
Trump, I believe is very deliberate in his use of factually inaccurate information aka lies & equally deliberate in his selective use of some of the facts. The latter is likely playing politics, however his deliberate actions & the facilitating the actions of others results in the deaths of vulnerable individuals. Proving the latter is unlikely but the medical & scientific communities are very clear in the tragic consequences.
My comments are because these events playing out are beyond sad.
Clearly I am not American, the pain I will feel from Trump's actions is monetary... retirement investments ( they'll recover) my professional employment is not at risk, my access to healthcare is not at risk.
My small voice is too express my sadness and 🙏 the larger collective voice in America to override the voice of the "bully" & truly raise the QOL for all Americans.