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Sometimes we hate mice, but sometimes we love them.

You can now own a mouse with an immune system that’s identical to yours. Why would you want to do that? So that drugs and medical therapies can be tested on the mouse first, before they’re used on you. Some researchers call them "avatars, like the virtual characters in movies and video games.

While these "mouse models" are mostly used for general research, companies are beginning to personalize them to help with an individual patient’s medical treatment.

One problem: This avatar can cost tens of thousands of dollars and it won’t be covered by insurance.
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In the future, everyone may have an avatar–a double who does tasks that you don’t want to perform. Your avatar will make a better impression than you would and, since you program it, everyone else it deals with (who may be avatars themselves) will know that its decisions are the same as yours.read more