Six new leaflets have been published by Understanding Animal Research, providing an overview of all aspects of animal research. They are suitable for school projects, as background for journalists, and to support public outreach activities by animal research organisations.

As well as providing facts and figures about animal research in the UK, the leaflets also cover how and why animals are used in research, how animals are cared for in the laboratory, and the strict controls that govern this research.

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Mice could be more useful in the study of hepatitis than previously thought, as research into the possibility of growing a human liver in a mouse has proven successful.

In the past, hepatitis research has been limited to a small number of animal models. Now scientists have created a mouse with a human liver suitable for studies on conditions which affect the liver.

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• Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation
• DOI: 10.1172/JCI40094
• Publication date: 24 Feb 10

Posted by Zebedee under blog's category : Communications & media

There are some strange animal-related things happening in Europe, but sometimes sense can prevail. This weekend, a Swiss referendum emphatically rejected calls for animals to have legal representation.

Austrian and Italian scientists writing in the science journal Nature a couple of weeks ago called for a public information campaign in mainland Europe about animal research. The scientists had been forced to abandon experiments using anaesthetised pigs in January. Their study of survival after avalanche burial involved monitoring 29 animals in snow at 1900 metres.

At around the same time, questions were also raised by antivivisection groups about the use of anaesthetised pigs to study blast injuries in the UK between 2006 and 2009. The tests 'saved many lives' in Iraq and Afghanistan due to improvements in post-traumatic techniques, defence minister Quentin Davies said in response.

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Pig models are becoming increasingly important in medical research into the causes of diseases, and have now shed new light on the causes of diabetes.

In healthy people, glucose concentrations in the blood increase soon after they eat a meal. As a consequence, beta-cells of the pancreas release insulin, which helps to lower blood glucose levels. Type 2 diabetes can develop when the body cannot produce enough insulin to meet its needs.

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• Journal: Diabetes
• DOI: 10.2337/db09-0519
• Publication date: 26 Feb 10