Does animal research produce cures?

May 4th 2021Allyson J. Bennett and Marcello Rosa The answer to this question is yes.  So why do some groups and individuals opposed to animal research and testing argue no? Simply put, the answer to the question depends on where you focus  in the timeline of scientific advances that lead to medical progress. If you … Continue reading Does animal research produce cures?

The ethics and value of responsible animal research

This post, signed by over 90 scientists, is in response to an article published 09/04/16 in the New York Times titled: "Second thoughts of an animal researcher."  The ethics and value of responsible animal research Last week we learned that in the first decade since its introduction the HPV (human papilloma virus) vaccine has cut … Continue reading The ethics and value of responsible animal research

USDA publishes 2015 Animal Research Statistics

Congratulations to the USDA/APHIS for getting ahead of the curve for a second time and making the US the first country to publish its 2015 animal research statistics. Overall, the number of animals (covered by the Animal Welfare Act) used in research fell 8% from 834,453 (2014) to 767,622 (2015). These statistics do not include … Continue reading USDA publishes 2015 Animal Research Statistics

Zebrafish: the rising star of animal models

Today we have a guest article by Jan Botthof, a PhD Student at the Cambridge University Department of Haematology and the world renowned Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. Together with the EMBL-European Bioinformatics Institute - with which it shares the Genome Campus a few miles south of Cambridge - the Sanger Institutes is one of the … Continue reading Zebrafish: the rising star of animal models

UCLA Chancellor on the Importance of Research

Earlier this week, UCLA Chancellor Gene Block sent an email to the entire campus community entitled "A Message on the Importance of Research."  In the message, Chancellor Block emphasizes the importance of medical research using animals and expresses support and admiration to all members of the UCLA family engaged in this work.  Below is the text of … Continue reading UCLA Chancellor on the Importance of Research

Closing your eyes may open your heart

A statement of fact can be falsified by presenting a single counterexample.  For example, the claim that “Pigs don’t fly” can be proven false by just finding one that does. Similarly, the claim that “we owe the same moral consideration to all sentient living beings” can be falsified by considering scenarios where acting on such … Continue reading Closing your eyes may open your heart

Primates in Medical Research – Free Literature

The following post by Richard Scrase of UAR discusses a new free e-book (also available as pdf) which Understanding Animal Research (UAR) and Moshe Bushmitz has produced. It's well worth a download, so please share with friends. How do researchers work with primates? Which species do they use? What has research with primates revealed? How … Continue reading Primates in Medical Research – Free Literature

What if animals could tweet?

Georgianne Nienaber, a political and investigative reporter for the Huffington Post, posted an article entitled “What if Lab Animals Could Tweet?” The  article was prompted by a recent Gallup poll showing an increase disparity in the moral acceptability of “medical testing on animals”.  Younger people, in the 18-34 years bracket, showed a decline of about 19% … Continue reading What if animals could tweet?