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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Food For Thought … Mechanistic Validation, Thomas Hartung, Sebastian Hoffman, Martin Stephens
Food For Thought … Mechanistic Validation, Thomas Hartung, Sebastian Hoffman, Martin Stephens
Experimentation Collection
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 …
Animal Model Research: The Apples And Oranges Quandary, Kenneth J. Shapiro
Animal Model Research: The Apples And Oranges Quandary, Kenneth J. Shapiro
Experimentation Collection
In this paper, I explore the premises underlying the problem of the evaluation of animal models. I argue that the presence of similarities and differences between the model and the modelled, although historically and currently a dominant antinomy framing evaluation, is not a bottom-line consideration. What is critical is 1) whether we learn and 2) whether we improve treatment through the animal model research. Similarity between model and modelled and the closely related concept of validity are not coterminus with these critical evaluative measures. In fact, differences between the model and modelled also can provide impetus to new understanding and …