ALF Claims Responsibility for CALAS National Office Vandalism

On Tuesday, July 15, an act of vandalism occurred near the Canadian Association for Laboratory Animal Science National Office in Toronto, ON.  There were no injuries and a police investigation is ongoing. The extremist website Bite Back published an unsigned communique: "On July 14, 2014, in Toronto, the Animal Liberation Front injected butyric acid into … Continue reading ALF Claims Responsibility for CALAS National Office Vandalism

Top marks for Speaking of Research website

The industry magazine Lab Animal occasionally reviews websites applicable to it’s readers. Earlier this year, they reviewed the Speaking of Research website. The article does a good job of relaying the history behind how Speaking of Research began and some background on the people involved. They also note that SR does a lot of reporting … Continue reading Top marks for Speaking of Research website

Why is alcohol research with nonhuman animals essential?

The following guest post is from Jeff Weiner, a Professor in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at Wake Forest School of Medicine.  Dr. Weiner is the Director of an NIH-funded translational research grant that employs rodent, monkey and human models to study the neurobiological substrates that contribute to alcohol addiction vulnerability.  He is also … Continue reading Why is alcohol research with nonhuman animals essential?

Animal Experiments in the UK: Government releases 2013 statistics

Every year the UK Home Office publishes statistics showing the number of procedures carried out on animals covered by the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act, 1986; this covers all vertebrate species. Overall, the number of animals used in research fell slightly from 4.03 to 4.02 million (0.4% fall). The total number of procedures was slightly higher, … Continue reading Animal Experiments in the UK: Government releases 2013 statistics

Undermining a cornerstone of medical research – examining a biased commentary on animal studies

Medical sociologist, Pandora Pound, and epidemiologist, Michael Bracken, recently wrote an opinion piece entitled "Is animal research sufficiently evidence based to be a cornerstone of biomedical research?" for the British Medical Journal. The article was chosen as the editor’s choice, leading to an editorial by the editor in chief, Fiona Godlee. Pound and Bracken criticise … Continue reading Undermining a cornerstone of medical research – examining a biased commentary on animal studies