Hurricane Sandy wreaked major havoc on New York University Hospital's preclinical research efforts, inflicting damage that destroyed projects years in the making.
The Daily News reports that thousands of laboratory mice drowned at a facility at East 32nd Street, near FDR Drive, which sustained major flooding. Researchers used the genetically modified mice for cancer research and various other experiments, according to the story.
Sandy killed nearly 50 people, left millions without electricity and caused billions of dollars in damage, and the lab damage doesn't equate with losses of life, a source emphasized to the newspaper. The mice, though, had taken years to produce, the story notes, and the wreckage is expected to set back the work of several scientists by a number of years.
Equally destructive, a power outage at the building's research laboratories wiped out antibodies, DNA strands and other enzymes used for various projects. According to the story, regular electricity and then emergency power failed by early Monday evening. Scientists are sifting through the debris to save what they can and move it to other parts of the hospital.
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