Laboratory and Basic Science Research Commons^™

Laboratory Rotations In Cell And Molecular Biology, Michael Cerbo

Library Impact Statements

No abstract provided.

Publication Reform To Safeguard Wildlife From Researcher Harm, Kate A. Field, Paul C. Paquet, Kyle A. Artelle, Gilbert Proulx, Ryan K. Brook, Chris T. Darimont

Professional Science Research Ethics Collection

Despite abundant focus on responsible care of laboratory animals, we argue that inattention to the maltreatment of wildlife constitutes an ethical blind spot in contemporary animal research. We begin by reviewing significant shortcomings in legal and institutional oversight, arguing for the relatively rapid and transformational potential of editorial oversight at journals in preventing harm to vertebrates studied in the field and outside the direct supervision of institutions. Straightforward changes to animal care policies in journals, which our analysis of 206 journals suggests are either absent (34%), weak, incoherent, or neglected by researchers, could provide a practical, effective, and rapidly imposed …

Laboratory Rotations In Cell And Molecular Biology Cmb 503x, Michael Cerbo

Library Impact Statements

No abstract provided.

Characterizing Aft1/2-Grx3/4 Interaction And The Role Of Bol2 During Iron Regulation In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, William Rivers

Senior Theses

Iron dysregulation has been linked to a variety of human diseases, such as anemia, Friedreich’s ataxia, X-linked sideroblastic anemia, sideroblastic-like microcytic anemia, and myopathy. Thus, it is vitally important to understand the mechanisms for regulating intracellular iron. Here, we use fluorescence microscopy techniques in live cells to study interactions of the yeast proteins Grx3/4, Aft1/2, and Bol2, which have been shown to be involved in turning off iron import when the cell has adequate iron. Modified versions of genes encoding these proteins have been incorporated into several yeast backgrounds to use fluorescence to monitor interactions under varying iron levels.

Day To Day And Leg To Leg Variation In Gene Expression, Zohal Alizai

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

BACKGROUND: Skeletal muscle biopsies are extensively used in research to determine the effects of exercise. Usually, sequential biopsies are taken before and after exercise in order to determine the influence of exercise on gene expression. Often it is not clear if the results are due to exercise or as a result of damage cause by the biopsy to the muscle. Previous studies have proven that multiple biopsies in the same leg cause stress to the muscle and such stress leads to inflammation and other response pathways that alter the gene expression. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to determine …

Spatial And Temporal Variability In Post-Larval Yellow Perch Density, Steve Hauschildt

Biology Graduate Theses

Yellow Perch Perca flavescens are important as forage for other species and for sport fishing in many northern lakes. However, estimating post-larval Yellow Perch populations can be difficult because of many environmental factors that cause unexplained variation. The objective of this study was to help reduce unexplained variation by determining a post-larval Yellow Perch population density estimate on Blackduck Lake, MN, provide guidance to help determine the number of trawls required for trawling-based recruitment indices to achieve varying levels of precision, and test for the effects of wind speed and direction on post-larval Yellow Perch spatial variability. This study estimated …

The Master Synaptic Regulator: Activity Regulated Cytoskeleton Associated Protein, Arc, In Normal Aging And Diseases With Cognitive Impairment, Amber Khan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease with complex underlying pathogenic mechanisms. Epidemiological studies have forecasted that in the next 3 decades, the number of AD cases will rise to epidemic proportions with enormous medical, emotional and financial burdens impacting individuals affected and society. Among many risk factors for AD, advancing age is clearly essential and necessary. Revelation of molecular changes in synaptic activities leading to the prodromal, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) stage may help illuminate the course of pathogenic progression and its cause-effect relationship with various targets thereby enabling target-driven disease-modifying therapeutic agents for AD.

Activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated (Arc) …

Andrews University Receives Naacls Accreditation, Hannah Gallant

Andrews Agenda: Campus News

No abstract provided.

Undergraduate Research And Teaching At Oak Lake Field Station, Lan Xu

Oak Lake Field Station 30th Anniversary Retreat Presentations

No abstract provided.

Refinement On The Way Towards Replacement: Are We Doing What We Can?, Kathrin Herrmann

Humane Science Movement Collection

No abstract provided.

Contesting Animal Experiments Through Ethics And Epistemology: In Defense Of A Political Critique Of Animal Experimentation, Arianna Ferrari

Professional Science Research Ethics Collection

Generally, an animal experiment can be defined as an intervention on an animal, which causes suffering, harm, and distress, for scientific purposes. In this definition, animal experiments differ from more general scientific investigations concerning animals, such as observational studies in the wild in the fields of ethology or conservation, in which animals are involved but may not be harmed. Nowadays, the use of the term vivisection, in the case of animal experiments, is very controversial. This term originally referred to the cutting of living bodies for scientific purposes and has a long conceptual history (Maehle, 1992). In ancient times, it …

How Can The Final Goal Of Completely Replacing Animal Procedures Successfully Be Achieved?, Christiane Baumgartl-Simons, Christiane Hohense

Validation of Alternative Methods Collection

Article 23 of European Union (EU) Directive 86/609/EEC required that Member States promote the development and validation of alternative technologies and stated that the European Commission (EC) “shall report before the end of 1987 on the possibility of modifying tests and guidelines” (European Parliament, 1986, Article 23). This Directive was replaced by Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes, which now requires that Member States develop and validate alternative approaches much more precisely and specifies that the ultimate objective is the “full replacement of procedures on live animals for scientific and educational purposes, as soon as …

How To Evaluate The Science Of Non-Human Animal Use In Biomedical Research And Testing: A Proposed Format For Debate, Ray Greek, Lisa A. Kramer

Validation of Alternative Methods Collection

Over time, the interpretation of science has occasionally been corrupted by vested interest groups, be they financially motivated or ego driven. Scientific consensus and widespread public beliefs usually catch up with the evidence, but this can take a very long time and often costs lives. The use of non-human animals in biomedical research and testing is a scientific endeavor and, as such, can and should be evaluated in light of the best science currently available. But facts that have been accepted in all areas of science are routinely ignored or called into question by well-funded, vested interest groups, compromising the …

Rethinking The 3rs: From Whitewashing To Rights, Charlotte E. Blattner

Humane Science Movement Collection

Few other issues have prompted as many legislators to adopt legal instruction on the “proper” use of non-human animals (hereinafter referred to as animals) in medical and scientific research. Today, the 3Rs (replacement, reduction, and refinement of animals in scientific procedures) are globally accepted by a vast majority of states (Blattner, 2014); and prominent international organizations, such as the World Organisation for Animal Health (Terrestrial Animal Health Code, 2018, Article 7(8)(3)) and the Council of Europe (Convention for the Protection of Vertebrate Animals Used for Experimental and Other Scientific Purposes, 1986, Articles 6(2), 7 and 8). Widespread acceptance of the …

Replacing Animal Tests To Improve Safety For Humans, Kathy Archibald, Robert Coleman, Tamara Drake

Application of Alternative Methods Collection

In this chapter, we propose a new, pragmatic approach that could accelerate the replacement of most, if not all, regulatory animal tests with superior tests based on human biology. We also propose that changes to the requirements for safety testing, issued by the us Food and Drug Administration (fda), must be made in order to enable the use of superior new tests, which are currently disadvantaged by the outdated language of the regulations. But first, it is imperative to establish some level of understanding of the efficacy of existing animal-based methods in order to know whether any possible replacement is …

The Changing Paradigm In Preclinical Toxicology: In Vitro And In Silico Methods In Liver Toxicity Evaluations, Fozia Noor

Application of Alternative Methods Collection

In vitro methods, based on human primary cells, cell lines, and genetically modified reporter cell lines, have greatly expanded the scope of in vitro toxicology. Other significant progress in the area of human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) (Asgari et al., 2010; Schwartz et al., 2014; Shinde et al., 2016; Shtrichman, Germanguz and Itskovitz-Eldor, 2013) is allowing the application of patient and disease-specific hiPSCs (Ghodsizadeh et al., 2010; McCracken et al., 2014; Siller et al., 2013). Moreover, the tools of precise genome editing with engineered nucleases, such as the zinc finger nucleases (zfns), the transcription activator-like effecter nucleases (talens) and, more …

The Potential Of Organ On Chip Technology For Replacing Animal Testing, Malcolm Wilkinson

Human Clinical Trials Collection

The term organ on a chip is used to describe the latest stage of development of in vitro cell culture technology. Figure 26.1 shows its steady development since the 1960s. Each step forward has improved our ability to model human-clinical response to new drugs or therapies and has enabled safety risk assessment of existing cosmetics, personal care products, or other chemicals in the environment. Scientific evidence that the predictive power of in vitro tests is superior to the use of animals will trigger a major shift in the way that medical research, in many areas, is carried out. In this …

Recent Developments In Alternatives To Animal Testing, Katy Taylor

Application of Alternative Methods Collection

Methods that replace techniques that use live animals, or methods of testing substances without live animal use, are known as alternatives, replacements or non-animal methods. Some prefer the term advanced technologies given the fact that they often rely on more sophisticated technology and are more human- relevant than the animal test they replace (see Langley et al., 2015). There have been efforts to replace animal tests since the 1960s. Significant progress initially came in replacing animals used to diagnose human disease; to produce biological drugs (such as vaccines); and to safety test batches of these drugs as they were produced. …

When Is An Alternative Not An Alternative? Supporting Progress For Absolute Replacement Of Animals In Science, Craig Redmond

Humane Science Movement Collection

This chapter addresses some of the areas in which animals are still used within “alternatives”-based research and calls on animal welfare and in vitro organizations to lead the debate and encourage absolute replacement of animal use in research. Without this, progress to end animal research will always remain limited, despite the paradigm shift seen in recent decades.

Research And Testing Without Animals: Where Are We Now And Where Are We Heading?, Thomas Hartung

Humane Science Movement Collection

Experiments involving non-human animals (hereinafter referred to as animals) were the predominant technology in the life sciences from the 1920s to the 1970s. Increasingly, animal-based procedures have been complemented and superseded by other approaches; yet, they still have an enormous reputation as an apparent definitive answer to many scientific and, especially, regulatory questions. They have been questioned first for ethical reasons: Can we justify making animals suffer for scientific inquiry? Simply said, people have different views on this question, but the general public views animal experimentation more and more critically. The animal research community has sought a compromise between those …