Chinese scientists said they have developed a robot rat that they hope can be used in post-disaster rescue missions. They said the rat can squeeze through narrow spaces, climb slopes, get over obstacles and walk on snow, adding that it could be used to carry medical supplies or emergency rations to places rescuers cannot reach, for example to people trapped under rubble after an earthquake. The team of researchers from the Beijing Institute of Technology and Tsinghua University published their findings in the peer-reviewed journal IEEE Transactions on Robotics this month. Lead author Shi Qing, a professor and the vice…