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Biomedical Research

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Despite Esteem for Science, Public at Odds with Scientists on Major Issues
The Pew Research Center is taking a close look at the real and perceived role of science in the eyes of the American public and policy-makers. In a study of both the scientific community and a broad cross section of the public, Pew examined how Americans view science in relation to their own lives and public policy, in addition to investigating how scientists see themselves as agents of influence in American life. Of special interest to animal advocates is a considerably large difference in how both groups view animal research issues as well as certain matters related to food. READ MORE

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Proper Names and the Social Construction of Biography: The Negative Case of Laboratory Animals
In this piece, Mary T. Phillips explores the importance of providing names and a narrative for animals used in research, as a way of forming ethical relationships. Because lab animals are so often only identified by a number, or another identifier which are not "names" per se, they demonstrate a "negative case" enabling lab workers to distance themselves from the animals' situation. Phillips deconstructs the category of "laboratory animal," and provides some comparisons to our treatment of companion animals that could be useful for research animal advocates. READ MORE

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Studying Personality Variation in Invertebrates: Why Bother?
In this article, Simona Kralj-Fiser and Wiebke Schuett review literature relating to the personality of a range of invertebrate species, and find that there are numerous fruitful avenues for further study and validation of personality variation in invertebrates. By comparing a range of research, the authors honed in on a group of personality traits (including life histories, social and sexual behaviors, complete metamorphosis, male emasculation during copulation, asexual reproduction, eusociality, and parasitism) that have been identified and could be studied further to better understand how invertebrates exhibit different personalities, and how those traits might change over time. READ MORE

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The Sympathy of Policy-Makers Towards Animal-Rights Activists, and the Future of Biomedical Research
This letter to the editor published in Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacologyargues that, despite the fact that the European biomedical community has "labored intensely" for many years to deliver on animal welfare standards, animal rights activists are winning the hearts and minds of the public and policy makers through "relentless opposition." The letter cites examples, such as the campaign to ban the transportation of primates for research, as occasions when animal advocates have caused damage to the larger research industry in the EU. READ MORE

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Animal Welfare and the Paradox of Animal Consciousness
In this paper, Marian Dawkins gives a summary of the history of the study of animal consciousness, and describes problems that scholars currently have in proving or demonstrating animal consciousness. In describing the history of animal behaviorism and related scholarship, as well as the the study of human consciousness, Dawkins explores how human shortcomings in understanding our own cognition also hamper our ability to recognize consciousness in other animals. However, Dawkins ultimately questions whether a detailed knowledge of animal consciousness is even necessary to provide animals with the welfare that they deserve. READ MORE

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Mercury in Fishes from 21 National Parks in the Western United States— Park Variation in Concentrations and Ecological Risk
This report is from the United States Geological Survey and the National Park Service, Air Resources Division. It looks at mercury concentration in fish located in 84 different sites across 21 national parks around the US. The study of "unprecedented spatial breadth" found that mercury levels can vary greatly between different parks, and even within parks themselves, marking the need for more localized monitoring. In some cases, high mercury levels were found in extremely remote areas, indicating that in addition to local monitoring, more research should be carried out into the transport of mercury through the ecosystem. READ MORE

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Autonomy in Chimpanzees
In this article, researchers make a strong case for chimpanzee autonomy. Spending most of the piece outlining a definition of autonomy itself, the authors prove that chimpanzees satisfy the basic definition and all of its essential conditions. Citing a variety of already-published research on chimp psychology, they show that acknowledging chimp autonomy is more or less a foregone conclusion if one were to view it from a non-speciesist perspective. The evidence has already been established, and can be easily combined to support the proposal of autonomy. READ MORE
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