Other Animal Sciences Commons^™

Vetcompass Australia: A National Big Data Collection System For Veterinary Science, Paul Mcgreevy, Peter Thomson, Navneet K. Dhand, David Raubenheimer, Sophie Masters, Caroline S. Mansfield, Timothy Baldwin, Ricardo J. Soares Magalhaes, Jacquie Rand, Peter Hill, Anne Peaston, James Gilkerson, Martin Combs, Shane Raidal, Peter Irwin, Peter Irons, Richard Squires, David Brodbelt, Jeremy Hammond

Paul McGreevy, PhD

Non-Human Primates In Neuroscience Research: The Case Against Its Scientific Necessity, Jarrod Bailey, Katy Taylor

Jarrod Bailey, PhD

Public opposition to non-human primate (NHP) experiments is significant, yet those who defend them cite minimal harm to NHPs and substantial human benefit. Here we review these claims of benefit, specifically in neuroscience, and show that: a) there is a default assumption of their human relevance and benefit, rather than robust evidence; b) their human relevance and essential contribution and necessity are wholly overstated; c) the contribution and capacity of non-animal investigative methods are greatly understated; and d) confounding issues, such as species differences and the effects of stress and anaesthesia, are usually overlooked. This is the case in NHP …

An Assessment Of The Role Of Chimpanzees In Aids Vaccine Research, Jarrod Bailey

Jarrod Bailey, PhD

Prior to Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV)-infected macaques becoming the ‘model of choice’ in the 1990s, chimpanzees were widely used in AIDS vaccine research and testing. Faced with the continued failure to develop an effective human vaccine, some scientists are calling for a return to their widespread use. To assess the past and potential future contribution of chimpanzees to AIDS vaccine development, databases and published literature were systematically searched to compare the results of AIDS vaccine trials in chimpanzees with those of human clinical trials, and to determine whether the chimpanzee trials were predictive of the human response. Protective and/or therapeutic …

Food For Thought … Mechanistic Validation, Thomas Hartung, Sebastian Hoffman, Martin Stephens

Martin Stephens, PhD

Validation of new approaches in regulatory toxicology is commonly defined as the independent assessment of the reproducibility and relevance (the scientific basis and predictive capacity) of a test for a particular purpose. In large ring trials, the emphasis to date has been mainly on reproducibility and predictive capacity (comparison to the traditional test) with less attention given to the scientific or mechanistic basis. Assessing predictive capacity is difficult for novel approaches (which are based on mechanism), such as pathways of toxicity or the complex networks within the organism (systems toxicology). This is highly relevant for implementing Toxicology for the 21st …

The Usefulness Of Systematic Reviews Of Animal Experiments For The Design Of Preclinical And Clinical Studies, Rob B.M. De Vries, Kimberley E. Weaver, Marc T. Avey, Martin Stephens, Emily S. Sena, Marlies Leenaars

Martin Stephens, PhD

The question of how animal studies should be designed, conducted, and analyzed remains underexposed in societal debates on animal experimentation. This is not only a scientific but also amoral question. After all, if animal experiments are not appropriately designed, conducted, and analyzed, the results produced are unlikely to be reliable and the animals have in effect been wasted. In this article, we focus on one particular method to address this moral question, namely systematic reviews of previously performed animal experiments. We discuss how the design, conduct, and analysis of future (animal and human) experiments may be optimized through such systematic …

Systematic Reviews Of Animal Experiments Demonstrate Poor Human Clinical And Toxicological Utility, Andrew Knight

Andrew Knight, Ph.D.

The assumption that animal models are reasonably predictive of human outcomes provides the basis for their widespread use in toxicity testing and in biomedical research aimed at developing cures for human diseases. To investigate the validity of this assumption, the comprehensive Scopus biomedical bibliographic databases were searched for published systematic reviews of the human clinical or toxicological utility of animal experiments. In 20 reviews in which clinical utility was examined, the authors concluded that animal models were either significantly useful in contributing to the development of clinical interventions, or were substantially consistent with clinical outcomes, in only two cases, one …

The Poor Contribution Of Chimpanzee Experiments To Biomedical Progress, Andrew Knight

Andrew Knight, PhD

Biomedical research on captive chimpanzees incurs substantial nonhuman animal welfare, ethical, and financial costs that advocates claim result in substantial advancements in biomedical knowledge. However, demonstrating minimal contribution toward the advancement of biomedical knowledge generally, subsequent papers did not cite 49.5% (47/95), of 95 experiments randomly selected from a population of 749 published worldwide between 1995 and 2004. Only 14.7% (14/95) were cited by 27 papers that abstracts indicated described well-developed methods for combating human diseases. However, detailed examination of these medical papers revealed that in vitro studies, human clinical and epidemiological studies, molecular assays and methods, and genomic studies …

Systematic Reviews Of Animal Experiments Demonstrate Poor Contributions To Human Healthcare, Andrew Knight

Andrew Knight, PhD

Widespread reliance on animal models during preclinical research and toxicity testing assumes their reasonable predictivity for human outcomes. However, of 20 published systematic reviews examining human clinical utility located during a comprehensive literature search, animal models demonstrated significant potential to contribute toward clinical interventions in only two cases, one of which was contentious. Included were experiments expected by ethics committees to lead to medical advances, highly-cited experiments published in major journals, and chimpanzee experiments—the species most generally predictive of human outcomes. Seven additional reviews failed to demonstrate utility in reliably predicting human toxicological outcomes such as carcinogenicity and teratogenicity. Results …

Evaluation Of Animal Model Research, Kenneth J. Shapiro

Kenneth J. Shapiro, PhD

It is argued that a concept of evaluation of animal models that is broader and more useful than validation is available. Productive generativity refers to the degree to which a model furthers understanding and leads to more-effective treatment interventions. Results of the application of this novel evaluative frame to several animal models of eating disorders show that this animal-based research has not been productive. The question of the relation between clinic and animal laboratory is discussed.

Volunteer Studies In Pain Research — Opportunities And Challenges To Replace Animal Experiments: The Report And Recommendations Of A Focus On Alternatives Workshop, C. K. Langley, Q. Aziz, C. Bountra, N. Gordon, P. Hawkins, A. Jones, G. Langley, T. Nurmikko, I. Tracey

Gill Langley, PhD

Despite considerable research, effective and safe treatments for human pain disorders remain elusive. Understanding the biology of different human pain conditions and researching effective treatments continue to be dominated by animal models, some of which are of limited value. British and European legislation demands that non-animal approaches should be considered before embarking on research using experimental animals. Recent scientific and technical developments, particularly in human neuroimaging, offer the potential to replace some animal procedures in the study of human pain. A group of pain research experts from academia and industry met with the aim of exploring creatively the tools, strategies …

The Validity Of Animal Experiments In Medical Research, Gill Langley

Gill Langley, PhD

Other animals, such as mice, rats, rabbits, dogs and monkeys, are widely used as surrogates for humans in fundamental medical research. This involves creating disorders in animals by chemical, surgical or genetic means, with the aim of mimicking selected aspects of human illnesses. It is a truism that any model or surrogate is not identical to the target being modelled. So, in medical research, experiments using animals or cell cultures or even healthy volunteers instead of patients (being the target population with the target illness) will inevitably have limitations, although these will be greater or lesser depending on the model.

Laboratory Routines Cause Animal Stress, Jonathan P. Balcombe, Neal D. Barnard, Chad Sandusky

Jonathan Balcombe, PhD

Eighty published studies were appraised to document the potential stress associated with three routine laboratory procedures commonly performed on animals: handling, blood collection, and orogastric gavage. We defined handling as any non-invasive manipulation occurring as part of routine husbandry, including lifting an animal and cleaning or moving an animal's cage. Significant changes in physiologic parameters correlated with stress (e.g., serum or plasma concentrations of corticosterone, glucose, growth hormone or prolactin, heart rate, blood pressure, and behavior) were associated with all three procedures in multiple species in the studies we examined. The results of these studies demonstrated that animals responded with …

In The Heat Of The Law, It's Not Just Steam: Geothermal Resources And The Impact On Thermophile Biodiversity, Donald J. Kochan, Tiffany Grant

Donald J. Kochan

Significant research has been conducted into the utilization of geothermal resources as a ‘green’ energy source. However, minimal research has been conducted into geothermal resource utilization and depletion impacts on thermophile biodiversity. Thermophiles are organisms which have adapted over millions of year to extreme temperature and chemical compositions and exist in hot springs and other geothermal resources. Their ability to withstand high temperatures makes them invaluable to scientific and medical research. Current federal and California case law classify geothermal resources as a mineral, not a water resource. Acquisition of rights to develop a geothermal resource owned or reserved by the …