C57BL/6 mice, such as the one pictured here, are commonly used in animal research. Credit: Dani Maver/Alamy Half of laboratory mice are not what scientists think they are, a genetic analysis of hundreds of strains that are distributed globally for animal research has found. The study, published today in Science 1 , uncovered widespread inconsistencies between the reported names of mouse strains and their actual genetic makeup. The mismatches have the potential to compromise the reproducibility of mouse studies and undermine research conclusions, scientists say. “This study is another wake-up call for biomedical research. If we don’t fully understand the genetics of the mice we’re using, we risk misinterpreting how diseases actually work,” says Daniel Rawle, an immunologist at the QIMR Berghofer research institute in Brisbane, Australia. Rawle has first-hand experience of the trouble that a mislabelled mouse strain can cause.…