13-year-old, $38 million facility was British leader HINXTON, U.K. —The Sanger Institute, a global leader since 2006 in producing genetically modified mice for biomedical research use, on May 16, 2019 announced to staff that it will close by 2022, if not sooner. The impending closure is among the first […]
Mouse studies often don’t work, NIH admits after landmark 10-year study
National Institutes of Health finding in 2013 presaged Wellcome Foundation decision to close the Sanger Institute genetically modified mouse lab by 2022 WASHINGTON D.C. (March 2013)–– Bluntly stated the headline in the February 11, 2013 edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, “Genomic responses in mouse models poorly mimic human inflammatory diseases.” Echoing […]
Four lionesses: women who made a difference for animals
Remembering Lynette Shanley, Tammy Sue Kirkpatrick, Coby Siegenthaler, and Lorraine Blake Roth Lynette Shanley, Tammy Sue Kirkpatrick, Coby Siegenthaler, and Lorraine Blake Roth, widely separated in geography, ages, life experience, and focus in activism, likely never met, nor even heard of each other, yet––like tens of thousands of other relatively anonymous women––lent strength to the ever-growing […]
Beyond sentience: will Brexit halt live animal exports from the U.K.?
Minister for Agriculture & Rural Affairs confirms her government is “considering options to control live animal exports” LONDON, U.K.––British cabinet ministers, after the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union, called “Brexit” for short, “must have regard to the welfare needs of animals as sentient beings in formulating and implementing government policy,” according to draft […]
Fewer dogs & cats used in U.S. labs than ever before
Guinea pig, hamster, & rabbit numbers also low, but monkey use was up. Mice & rats? Who knows? WASHINGTON, D.C.––Are U.S. laboratories using more animals than ever before, or fewer, at least of most species? Laboratory animal use data from 2016 released on June 9, 2017 shows record reported lows in use of dogs, […]
Why is animal use in labs up, even as public moral approval is down?
Anti-vivisection organizations claim victory while running on old momentum WASHINGTON D.C.–– Fewer Americans than ever before––just 51%, barely more than half––believe biomedical research on animals is ethically acceptable, according to 2017 Gallup polling data. Paradoxically, total use of animals in experiments appears to have soared to an all-time high, according to research funded by People […]
“Rat-tickler” Jaak Panksepp, 73, showed that the last laugh is on us
The joke, Panksepp found, was on scientists who never realized that animals have senses of humor Jaak Panksepp, 73, the neuroscientist known as “The Rat-Tickler” for demonstrating through rat experiments that rats are as much motivated by having fun as people are, died of cancer on April 18, 2017 at his home in Bowling Green, Ohio. A […]
What Brexit means for “pet passports” & lab animals
Part IV of a five-part series. (See also Will U.K. leaving E.U. mean leaving animal welfare behind?, Farmed animals & the Brexit “diet plan,” Farmed animals & money talks, and Back to the Jungle Book: U.K. wildlife law post-Brexit.) LONDON, U.K.––Among the signal achievements for animal welfare during the 43 years that the United Kingdom has been […]
India drops animal welfare rep from lab oversight board
Animal Welfare Board of India chief ousted for opposing bullfighting CHENNAI, India––Crippling the ability of the Animal Welfare Board of India to monitor animal use in biomedical research and product safety testing, Indian minister of environment and forests Prakash Javadekar has removed AWBI chair R.M. Kharb from his position on the 13-member Committee for […]
Can Tox21 robot take the gamble on animals out of toxicity testing?
Testing device uses cells instead of animals WASHINGTON D.C.––Can a robot detect substance toxicity toward humans faster and more accurately than a traditional test on rats, mice, fish, or other animals? The developers of the Tox21 robot, whose name is short for “Toxicology in the 21st Century,” are betting that the robot can outperform traditional […]