"Among the animals used in research, teaching, and testing, mice comprise a majority of all experimental mammals. The remarkable genetic similarity of mice to humans, combined with great convenience, perhaps accounts for mice so often being the experimental model of choice in research. Mice also are used to test new procedures and drugs for safety, as required by an array of federal regulations. Another primary use of mice is for the production of biological reagents, such as monoclonal antibodies and vaccines."

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http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org/articles/05_02/mouse_053102.shtml

The first head-to-head comparison of draft human and mouse genome sequences can be summarized in one word—fourteen. Fourteen genes on mouse chromosome 16 are notfound in humans. All the others—more than 700 mouse genes—have counterparts in the human genome, most of which are grouped together and in the same order as in the mouse genome.

In short, the human and mouse genomes are remarkably similar not only in the structure of their chromosomes but also at the level of DNA sequence. Scientists have reported similarities between the two species for decades but never with the detail that is possible by lining up two genome sequences.

The new findings, by researchers at Celera Genomics in Rockville, Maryland, provide the strongest evidence yet that the mouse is a useful model for understanding human health and disease. Almost any gene in humans is going to be present in mice and vice versa, the team concludes.

"The study confirms what we mouse geneticists have all hoped would be true," says Neal G. Copeland of the Mouse Cancer Genetics Program at the National Cancer Institute in Frederick, Maryland. "And that is important because we're using the mouse as a model organism to study functions of genes in the human genome."