• Question: do you try not to use animals for testing

    Asked by anon-201756 to Sophia, Sarah, Meirin, George, Emily, Andy on 12 Mar 2019. This question was also asked by anon-201663.
    • Photo: Sophia Pells

      Sophia Pells answered on 12 Mar 2019:

      When we study how to image the radioactive atoms in hospital scanners, we use 3D-printed organs so we don’t have to test on people or animals. There are also 3D-printed mice that can be used. The new drugs do need to be tested on mice before they can be used in people but I don’t work in that area myself.

    • Photo: Andy Buckley

      Andy Buckley answered on 13 Mar 2019:

      I don’t have to try very hard: no testing of that sort in my work. But I am not 100% opposed, provided it is done only when essential, and humanely: in research funding these days, anything with ethical issues requires extra forms, procedures, and proof that it is completely unavoidable and that the benefits far outweigh the downsides. I’m sure there’s room yet for improvement — there always is — but it’s good to know that this is taken very, very seriously, by e.g. the European Research Council.

    • Photo: Sarah O'Sullivan

      Sarah O'Sullivan answered on 14 Mar 2019:

      My research doesn’t use animals and I don’t specifically buy products that are cruelty free but I recognise that some animal research is inevitable as you can’t assume something that works in a petri dish in a lab actually transfers to humans. Animal testing is very strictly regulated for research purposes though

    • Photo: Meirin Oan Evans

      Meirin Oan Evans answered on 14 Mar 2019:

      Not testing on animals is pretty effortless in my case. Particle physics research at the smallest scales doesn’t eventually need to be tested on humans, so there’d be no reason to test on animals either.

Comments