Rats are commonly known for their use in scientific research and laboratory testing, specifically to test strains of viruses or diseases to create cures that can help humans as well as the rats they are tested on. Rats are used so often to test these because of their high birth rate, genetic consistency, and similarity to human biology (Langton et al 2001). As with any sort of animal testing, animal rights and ethics are always a controversy, including with rats. However, scientists performing the experiment must follow an ethical protocol during the testing, which includes numbing the rats so they do not feel any pain. A major problem with this is that not all scientists follow this rule, and get away with animal cruelty. Animal testing, however, is very important in medicinal research and without rats being tested specifically, we would not have had many of the prescription drugs we have today (Langton et al 2001).