Fact into Fiction – Why Context Matters with Animal Images

A curious thing happened recently. The following picture of “animal testing” surfaced on Twitter and was retweeted over five thousand times (and counting) over the course of one week. It runs with a message “Retweet if you say NO to animal testing. #Animalrights”. The message has been recurring on Twitter for some time, though its … Continue reading Fact into Fiction – Why Context Matters with Animal Images

Background Briefing on Animal Research

Having a full understanding of all the issues surrounding animal research can be a challenge for even science-specialist journalists, let alone general journalists, editors and broadcasters who have to handle many unrelated issues each and every day. Speaking of Research have produced a two-page summary of the key information which general news producers, journalists, presenters … Continue reading Background Briefing on Animal Research

Zerhouni Sets the Record Straight on Animal Research

On June 4th 2013, Elias Zerhouni, a former Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) made some comments at a Scientific Management and Review Board (SMRB) meeting that were reported in NIH Record as follows: “We have moved away from studying human disease in humans,” he lamented. “We all drank the Kool-Aid on that … Continue reading Zerhouni Sets the Record Straight on Animal Research

USDA Statistics for Animals Used in Research in 2012

In 2011 the USDA stopped publishing its animal research statistics on the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) website (with the last full stats being 2010). We have recently received the 2012 statistics for animals used in research under the Animal Welfare Act. Overall the number of animals used in research fell by 16% … Continue reading USDA Statistics for Animals Used in Research in 2012

Speaking of Research Across Social Media

Speaking of Research has added a few more ways of interacting with our supporters. We have long been on Facebook and Twitter, where we regularly post general science stories as well as link to our new items. We also have a YouTube account where we post the occasional video (usually for use in posts on … Continue reading Speaking of Research Across Social Media

The British Government sets out a positive future for animal research

Today, the British Government set out its pledges on the future of animal research under the current Coalition Government. A joint paper put out by the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills, the Department for Health, and the Home Office entitled "Working to reduce the use of animals in scientific research" laid out the future … Continue reading The British Government sets out a positive future for animal research

Animal Testing and Greek Mythology

Ray Greek has been held up by the animal rights community as a standard bearer for the “animal research doesn’t work” movement. While his arguments appear credible at first glance, they quickly fail under scientific scrutiny. In this post we take a broad look at the arguments made in his key work, Animal Models in … Continue reading Animal Testing and Greek Mythology

Oxford University Opens its Doors

Oxford University has opened its doors to the BBC to allow them to film the animals in its facility. This is a giant step for a university which has a long history of being a target for animal rights extremism. Oxford University was the subject of a 4-year sustained campaign (activists do still turn even … Continue reading Oxford University Opens its Doors