Biomedical Research Archives - Page 16 of 44

Jun 20 2015 | karol orzechowski

Can Ethics Committees Actually Protect Research Animals?

Animal Ethics Committees are supposed to offer animals protection against unethical experimentation, but their mission makes this virtually impossible. READ MORE

Jun 12 2015 | karol orzechowski

The Apples and Oranges of Animal Research

Just because an animal shares some similarity with humans, it doesn't mean that using them in experiments will provide useful data. This study explains why. READ MORE

May 19 2015 | karol orzechowski

The Trouble with Insect Cyborgs

The use of animals by the military is not new, but it seems to be forever evolving into new areas. This article outlines recent moves by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop insect cyborgs - fusing insect bodies with hardware that facilitates their control by humans for military purposes. The paper acts as an overview of insect cyborg developments, as well as a deconstruction of the ways in which humans justify the use and killing of insects. READ MORE

May 8 2015 | karol orzechowski

Package This: Beauty Consumers Favor ‘Cruelty Free’ and ‘Natural’ Product Claims

For consumers of beauty products, labels are an important way of discerning which items to buy, and for addressing a wide variety of consumer concerns. A Neilsen poll shows that purchasing products that are "not tested on animals" is important for a majority of beauty product consumers, and labels are the primary method of finding out this information. However, there is some discrepancy between the number of consumers who consider animal welfare important, and those that are willing to pay extra for cruelty-free products. READ MORE

May 5 2015 | karol orzechowski

UK Funders Demand Strong Statistics for Animal Studies

In animal experimentation, the replacement of animals wherever possible, reduction of the number of animals tested on, and refinement of experiments to use fewer animals is known as the "3 Rs." This guideline is supposed to govern a great deal of animal experimentation around the world, yet many millions of animals are still used in laboratories every year. In the U.K., a research council has presented 2015 guidelines instructing that "funding applicants must now show that their work will provide statistically robust results or risk having their grant application rejected." This may mean that researchers have to use more animals in experiments or they risk having their funding cut. READ MORE

May 1 2015 | karol orzechowski

Normalizing the Unthinkable: The Ethics of Using Animals in Research

Despite years of advocate opposition and growing concern from the general public, animal experimentation remains an entrenched part of most of the scientific establishment. This publication from the U.K., prepared by Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, looks to challenge the practice of animal experimentation from every angle: scientific, financial, institutional, and ethical. The paper brings together a plethora of sources into one comprehensive document that argues that animal experiments are ethically unsupportable and create bad science. READ MORE

Apr 30 2015 | Faunalytics

Seven In 10 Have Favorable Impression Of Animal Cause

The animal protection cause has strong and steady support, the credibility of animal groups is solid, and most people perceive animal welfare to be important for all animals. READ MORE

Apr 17 2015 | karol orzechowski

The Multifactorial Role of the 3Rs in Shifting the Harm-Benefit Analysis in Animal Models of Disease

Testing on animals for biomedical research is viewed as unethical by many animal advocates. The use of animals within the field is generally governed by a patchwork of state-level and national regulations, as well as a loose set of principles called the "3 Rs" (that stand for replacement, reduction, and refinement). This paper looks at the role of the 3 Rs in the promotion of ethical practices in animal experimentation, taking the view that the consistent application of the 3 Rs can result in animal research that is ethically sound. READ MORE

Apr 10 2015 | karol orzechowski

Pain Management for Animals Used in Science: Views of Scientists and Veterinarians in Canada

This study looks at the administration of anaesthetics for laboratory animals, and the way that scientists and lab vets perceive its use and effectiveness. Using an in-depth approach where subjects were interviewed for 1-2 hrs at a time, they explore various issues surrounding pain management, looking at when, how, and why analgesics are administered, and how lab staff make those decisions. Though the paper takes animal use as a given (the use of animals in experiments is not questioned), the paper offers important insight into how lab scientists and vets carry out their work. READ MORE

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