The contributions of animal research to human health are many. In response to blanket statement that animal research “does not work” I wanted to provide three examples of how animal research has directly benefited the health of women and their babies: in-vitro fertilization, oral contraceptives and neonatal intensive care. Do you or any of your … Continue reading Animal Research Benefits Mom and Baby Alike
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Septic shock: Mice show way to a new treatment
When we think of the immune system we usually think of the adaptive immune system - the B-cells and T-cells that recognize and destroy specific pathogens – which isn’t surprising since this is the arm of the immune system that vaccines are designed to stimulate. However working alongside the adaptive immune system is the innate … Continue reading Septic shock: Mice show way to a new treatment
A shield against the nightmare: Ebola virus vaccine success
There must be few diseases that can conjure up images of horror the way Ebola virus can. Since it was first identified in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) in the mid-1970’s there have been several outbreaks that have left hundreds of people dead, but it is the potential for far worse outbreaks … Continue reading A shield against the nightmare: Ebola virus vaccine success
Symposium Explores Animal Rights Tactics, Responses
On Saturday April 24, 2010, the American Physiological Society sponsored a symposium on Trends in Animal Rights Activism and Extremism. This event, attended by about 100 people, was part of the Experimental Biology 2010 meeting, which was recently held in Anaheim, California. In introducing the symposium, session chair Bill Yates noted the importance of animal … Continue reading Symposium Explores Animal Rights Tactics, Responses
Finding animal research in medical news
One of the things that often strikes me when reading about medical advances or clinical trials is how variable the reporting of basic and applied research, including animal research, that underpins the clinical research is. In some cases it is discussed in some depth, but far too often it is either skimmed over or not … Continue reading Finding animal research in medical news
Laying the foundations of medical research
For the past couple of weeks a debate has been raging on the Opposing Views website between Speaking of Research’s Dario Ringach and the anti-vivisectionist Ray Greek. It has been a debate shaped by Dr. Greek's attempts to persuade readers to agree with his very narrow concept of what prediction means in biology and his … Continue reading Laying the foundations of medical research
A Noble cause: Protecting babies brains with Xenon
Back in October I wrote about how animal research has enabled the development of brain cooling as a treatment to reduce brain damage in babies who had suffered oxygen starvation during birth. This is a problem that affects tens of thousands of babies every year, and frequently results in death or long-term disability. Brain cooling … Continue reading A Noble cause: Protecting babies brains with Xenon
RNAi: Send in the Nanobots!
The publication of the preliminary results of a small clinical trial of a new therapy called RNA interference (RNAi) online in the scientific journal Nature is causing quite a stir in the scientific community this week. A team led by Professor Mark E. Davis at Caltech targeted the delivery of a nanoparticle only 70 nanometers … Continue reading RNAi: Send in the Nanobots!
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