ALTWEB Newsletter
June 2006

Contact Dermatitis 2006: Blending Science with Best Practice

Contact Dermatitis 2006: Blending Science with Best Practice
September 28-30, 2006
Baltimore, MD

This will be the fifth meeting of the Experimental Contact Dermatitis Research Group (ECDRG). Organizers include the Experimental Contact Dermatitis Research Group (ECDRG), the American Contact Dermatitis Society (ACDS), the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) Allergic and Irritant Dermatitis Team and the University of Maryland Medical School.

The goal of this meeting is to discuss the basic and applied science of contact dermatitis. Scientific exchange is fostered among scientists and dermatologists from academia, government, and industry working in the field of contact dermatitis.

Titles and abstracts should be submitted by August 1, 2006 to receive full consideration from the scientific committee.

For more details, visit the CDC website here.

ECVAM Report on Three Rs Approaches in Marine Biotoxin Testing

The workshop on Three Rs Approaches in Marine Biotoxin Testing was held at ECVAM on 24-26 January 2005, with participants from academia, national and international reference laboratories, competent authorities and the European Commission (EC). This ECVAM/DG SANCO Workshop was organised: a) to discuss the current state-of- the-art with regard to test methods and strategies; b) to consider immediate opportunities to reduce and refine animal use; and c) to examine the possibilities of validation and acceptance of non-animal methods as monitoring tools and reference methods in marine biotoxin testing, reflecting the technical progress that had been made.

ECVAM Workshop Report 55: Three Rs Approaches in Marine Biotoxin Testing is available on Altweb's site as a PDF here. To view the report, you need Adobe Reader which you can download for free at Adobe's website here.

ATLA 34.2 Available

Volume 34, Number 2 of ATLA (Alternatives to Laboratory Animals) is available on Altweb here.

ILAR Announces New E-Journal

The new e-Journal can be accessed by following this link to ILAR's website.

The Debate over Animal Experimentation Featured in The Economist

Researchers are working on ways to reduce the need for animal experiments, but new laws may increase the number of experiments needed

In an ideal world, people would not perform experiments on animals. For the people, they are expensive. For the animals, they are stressful and often painful.

That ideal world, sadly, is still some way away. People need new drugs and vaccines. They want protection from the toxicity of chemicals. The search for basic scientific answers goes on. Indeed, the European Commission is forging ahead with proposals that will increase the number of animal experiments carried out in the European Union, by requiring toxicity tests on every chemical approved for use within the union's borders in the past 25 years.

Click here for more...

Applications Sought for P&G 2006 European Animal Welfare and Alternatives Awards

Applications are being accepted for awards of €25,000 in each of the following categories:

More information is available by following this link.

"From Guinea Pig to Computer Mouse" text available in 8 more languages

Texts from the InterNICHE book 'from Guinea Pig to Computer Mouse' (2nd ed.) are launched on-line today in Arabic, French, German, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

The book is targeted at teachers and students of medicine, veterinary medicine and biology, and at ethics committees and animal protection groups.

Each translation begins with a highly detailed introduction to different types of alternative to harmful animal use in education such as multimedia software and virtual reality, training mannekins and simulators, ethically-sourced animal cadavers, student self- experimentation and clinical work with animal patients.

More information here.

HSUS Pain and Distress Report June 2006 Now Available

The Pain & Distress Report provides laboratory animal veterinarians and personnel, members of animal care committees, and others with summaries of recent developments in animal research regarding new policies and perspectives, articles from the technical and scientific literature, international statistics on animal use, resources and services, upcoming conferences, websites, and more. Past issues of The Pain & Distress Report can also be viewed at the HSUS website.

Upcoming Meetings

25th ACLAM Forum: New Frontiers in Education and Training
June 25-29
St. Petersburg, FL

Laboratory Animal Analgesia and Peri-operative Care (2-day course)
June 29-30, 2006
University of Newcastle, United Kingdom

IACUC 101
July 13, 2006
University of New England, Biddeford, Maine

For a complete calendar of upcoming meetings, visit the Altweb Calendar here.