Trends in Science

"I am not interested to know whether vivisection produces results that are profitable to the human race or doesn’t. ... The pain which it inflicts upon unconsenting animals is the basis of my enmity toward it, and it is to me sufficient justification of the enmity without looking further." ―Mark Twain

The most significant trend in modern research in recent years has been the recognition that animals are rarely good models for the human body. Studies have shown time and again that researchers are often wasting lives, both animal and human, and precious resources by trying to infect animals with diseases that they would never normally contract. As Dr. Richard Klausner of the National Cancer Institute admitted, "The history of cancer research has been a history of curing cancer in the mouse. We have cured mice of cancer for decades, and it simply didn't work in humans."

The world's most forward-thinking scientists have accepted this and moved on to other methods of studying disease. The National Cancer Institute now uses human cancer cells, taken by biopsy during surgery, to perform first-stage testing for its new anti-cancer drugs, sparing the million mice it used to use every year and giving us a much better shot at combating cancer.

Thanks to this new understanding, many non-animal research methods are now being used around the globe. Here are just a few examples:

Pharmagene Laboratories in Royston, England, has rejected all animal studies because they are unnecessary and outdated. The pharmaceutical company uses sophisticated computer technologies that show the effects of chemicals on the human body. Says Pharmagene cofounder Gordon Baxter, "If you have information on human genes, what's the point of going back to animals?"

Physiome Sciences in New Jersey has developed software programs that simulate the human body's organs and processes. Its computer model of the heart is so advanced that it can be used to predict the heart's reaction to pharmaceutical compounds, eliminating the use of animals.

TOPKAT is a software package that allows researchers to predict the oral toxicity and the degree of skin and eye irritation of chemicals. It is faster, cheaper, and more accurate than animal tests and is now used by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the U.S. Army.

Molecular assay systems (test-tube tests) can show how human and animal bacterial cells react when exposed to various compounds. These speed up the testing process and enable scientists to tests thousands of substances at the same time–something that is impossible with animal studies.

PETA persuaded the U.S. Department of Transportation (DoT) to stop using animals to test corrosive substances. Now, the DoT uses Corrositex, a test in which substances are applied to a protein membrane instead of being smeared onto rabbits' backs and eating through their skin.

The Irritation Assay System has spared millions of animals from blinding eye- and skin-irritation tests. This simple test-tube procedure is used by many personal-care product manufacturers.

Scientists can now "grow" artificial human skin for skin grafts and for skin-irritation testing.

The National Cancer Registry and other disease-reporting mechanisms reveal exactly what is happening to people under all kinds of conditions and tell us more about human disease than animal studies ever will.

DNA studies are unlocking the doors to human illness and birth defects. These studies show us that trying to learn about the human body by experimenting on animals is like trying to drive from Boston to San Francisco using a map of France.

For more on how you can help implement humane testing procedures, click here