In a post a couple of weeks ago entitled “End of primate research at the University of Toronto?” Allyson Bennet wrote about the truth behind the spin that primate research has ceased at the University of Toronto (UT), commenting that: If nothing else, those inclined to dodge should consider that they are deriving benefit from … Continue reading STOP lying about research at the University of British Columbia
Author: Editor
Part 2: University of Toronto ends live primate research – Outsourcing Controversy
Earlier this week we wrote about the University of Toronto’s public statements concerning the end of their on-site primate research. A number of broader questions were raised by considering similar cases and articles. Among them, what does it mean for a university to claim that it does not engage in a particular type of research? … Continue reading Part 2: University of Toronto ends live primate research – Outsourcing Controversy
Can stem cells repair broken hearts? Thanks to animal research we may soon find out!
On Monday – and appropriately perhaps just in time for St. Valentine’s day – a team of scientists at the Cedars Sinai Heart Institute led by Dr. Eduardo Marbán announced that in a small clinical trial they had repaired damaged heart tissue using an infusion stem cells derived from the heart attack patient’s own heart. … Continue reading Can stem cells repair broken hearts? Thanks to animal research we may soon find out!
How nerve cells reach their niche.
Developmental biology, the study of the processes through which organisms grow and develop, is an area of biomedical research where modal organisms - ranging from the slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum to the chicken - play a crucial role, and one that has been honoured with several Nobel Prizes in recent years. For example, the 1995 … Continue reading How nerve cells reach their niche.
Merry Christmas for Patients with Hemophilia B
That was the headline of an editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) which discussed the very promising results of a small clinical trial of gene therapy to treat hemophilia B – also known as Christmas Disease*. Patients with haemophilia B suffer bleeding in the joints and muscles due to deficiency in a … Continue reading Merry Christmas for Patients with Hemophilia B
Best of Friends: University of Texas Professor helps to fund Extremism
Regular readers of this blog will be familiar with the activities of Dr. Steve Best, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Texas at El Paso and long time supporter of animal rights extremism. Indeed, only last month we discussed his support for campaigns of harassment and intimidation against students and scientists, prompted by a recent … Continue reading Best of Friends: University of Texas Professor helps to fund Extremism
What Cost Savings? A Closer Look at the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act of 2011
The status and future of chimpanzee research in the US are at the heart of much discussion lately in both scientific and public (also here and here) spheres. A committee convened by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to consider the issue held a number of meetings and is expected to report its findings to the … Continue reading What Cost Savings? A Closer Look at the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act of 2011
Remembering a hero of the struggle against HIV/AIDS
December 1st is World AIDS Day, dedicated to raising awareness of the worldwide AIDS pandemic, to support people living with HIV/AIDS and to commemorate those who died. The disease has claimed over 25 million lives. Worldwide, over 33 million people are now living with HIV/AIDS. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the first report … Continue reading Remembering a hero of the struggle against HIV/AIDS
Speaking of Research 