Alternatives to Animal Testing Gaining Ground (Baltimore Sun)New drugs and consumer products are almost always tested for safety on rats, rabbits, chimpanzees and other animals, but advances in technology could bring an end to such experiments. Testing on animals could be phased out over the next couple of decades < putting to rest ethical, efficiency and reliability questions if new systems are accepted by researchers and government regulators, according to several experts gathering to debate the subject this week. "We're trying to find out how we can save animals and make risk assessment of consumer products more reliable," said Dr. Thomas Hartung, director of Johns Hopkins University's Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing, a co-sponsor of the Washington conference called Animals, Research, and Alternatives: Measuring Progress 50 Years Later. "We're learning as science gets better." Estimates of animals used globally for experiments range from tens of millions to 100 million or more annually. Between 80 and 800 animals are now needed per drug. And there isn't universal agreement among scientists that ending testing on animals will ever be possible or should stop, considering the life-saving advances that have come from such studies, according to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Full article at Baltimore Sun
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