Research Methods in Life Sciences | Open Access Articles

Considering A New Paradigm For Alzheimer’S Disease Research, Gillian R. Langley

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Using Alzheimer’s disease as a case study, this review argues that it might be time to consider a new paradigm in medical research and drug discovery. The existing framework is overly dependent on often unvalidated animal models, particularly transgenic mice. Translational success remains elusive and costly late-stage drug failure is common. The conventional paradigm tends to overlook species differences and assumes that animal-based findings are generally applicable to humans. Could pathways-based research using advanced human-specific models probed with new tools, including those of systems biology, take centre stage? The current transition in chemical toxicology to a 21st-century paradigm could be …

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Moving Beyond The Welfare Standard Of Psychological Well-Being For Nonhuman Primates: The Case Of Chimpanzees, John P. Gluck

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Since 1985, the US Animal Welfare Act and Public Health Service policy have required that researchers using nonhuman primates in biomedical and behavioral research develop a plan ‘‘for a physical environment adequate to promote the psychological well-being of primates.’’ In pursuing this charge, housing attributes such as social companionship, opportunities to express species-typical behavior, suitable space for expanded locomotor activity, and nonstressful relationships with laboratory personnel are dimensions that have dominated the discussion. Regulators were careful not to direct a specific set of prescriptions (i.e., engineering standards) for the attainment of these goals, but to leave the design of the …

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Consensus Report On The Future Of Animal-Free Systemic Toxicity Testing, Marcel Leist, Nina Hasiwa, Costanza Rovida, Mardas Daneshian, David Basketter, Ian Kimber, Harvey Clewell, Tilman Gocht, Alan Goldberg, Francois Busquet, Anna-Maria Rossi, Michael Schwarz, Martin Stephens, Rob Taalman, Thomas B. Knudsen, James Mckim, Georgina Harris, David Pamies, Thomas Hartung

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Since March 2013, animal use for cosmetics testing for the European market has been banned. This requires a renewed view on risk assessment in this field. However, in other fields as well, traditional animal experimentation does not always satisfy requirements in safety testing, as the need for human-relevant information is ever increasing. A general strategy for animal-free test approaches was outlined by the US National Research Council’s vision document for Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century in 2007. It is now possible to provide a more defined roadmap on how to implement this vision for the four principal areas of …

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Considering A New Paradigm For Alzheimer’S Disease Research, Gillian R. Langley

Experimentation Collection

Moving Beyond The Welfare Standard Of Psychological Well-Being For Nonhuman Primates: The Case Of Chimpanzees, John P. Gluck

Experimentation Collection

Experimentation Collection