Why is standardization of strains, age, sex, and housing important for reproducibility in exotic rodent research?

• A. They have no impact on experimental outcomes.
• B. They influence physiology, metabolism, and response to interventions; standardization reduces confounding and improves comparability across studies.
• C. They are irrelevant to cross-study comparisons.
• D. They only affect housing aesthetics.

Answer: (B)