13 Most Iconic Science Pictures Ever Taken

2. Vacanti Mouse

Although this image dominated debates about genetic engineering in the 1990s, neither the mouse, nor its accompanying ear are actually genetically modified.

The experiment was actually something akin to modern techniques of growing organs in the lab. The "ear" is grown by seeding bovine cartilage into a human ear-shaped mould implanted under the skin.

It was done in an attempt to find a way to grow new body parts for people who have lost theirs, without needing to resort to a prosthesis. Nowadays we can do this in a lab, using the patient's own cells to grow an organ around a scaffold - all without the use of mice.