Monya Baker has given us a good and useful read. Her article in Nature provides many examples of animal models for human conditions and gives a clear appraisal of their value. While animals obviously cannot show the full complexity of the human condition I was repeatedly surprised by how they can show behaviour that is clearly similar to that seen in humans.
The article also some wry comments about how research is conducted, "it's really rare that a small rodent would be lifted up by another animal and survive"..."We scare the hell out of the animal, then ask if it is anxious and how it can learn" - incidentally NC3R's suggest cupping mice or shepherding them into a container when you want to move them. We thought it was definitely worth our science communicator award!
Read Animal models: Inside the minds of mice and men here.
Read about the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research here.
Last edited: 29 July 2022 10:35
