How are rats helpful?

Answer 1

If it weren't for lab rats we wouldn't have the medical knowledge that we have now.
Example:
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/124/115409?src=RSS_PUBLIC

A school trained a rat to help in it's rewiring project. They attached wires to her harness, put her in the space between the walls, and then tapped on the wall to guide her to the places she needed to be. She unintentionally threaded the wires from one electrical box to the next.

Gambian Pouched Rats are being trained to sniff out abandoned land mines in war-torn countries.

They provide food in the Asian countries.

A hairless pet rat appears to have a higher body temperature then their furred cousins and therefore make comforting "hot-water bottles" when they snuggle up behind your neck and sooth tense muscles and headaches.

As with other animals that are used in pet therapy programs, rats make a welcome distraction for those who are in nursing homes and hospitals.

And rats make awesome pets.

Sandra Beasley and the Spaz Rats
(Rattery, Rescue, and Rat-care Expert)
http://spazrats.tripod.com

Answer 2

We share alot of physiology with rats. So when we conduct tests, we do not have any of the major risks that are involved in human testing. Rats are the cheapest and most easily expendable animal that we can conduct tests on.

Answer 3

there are helpful in experiments because they are usually the one getting experimented on :- )

Answer 4

They are used in research.Also as pets

Answer 5

helpful as:

test subjects

pets

food pick upers

fodder for snakes and stuff to keep things poplace up

tells you that place is posined

tells you that place is not clean

as butt of jokes

stuff like that

Answer 6

It depends on what you need done.