Major Report Calls for More Alternatives to Animal Tests
 The scientific community has a “moral imperative” to
develop alternatives, says a new report on animal tests by a British
think tank. The Nuffield Council on Bioethics also calls for improvements
in the lengthy validation process currently used to approve new
nonanimal tests.
Two years ago, the council convened a working group of scientists,
ethicists, and animal protection advocates. Although this diverse
group did not reach any agreement as to whether animal experiments
are scientifically useful or ethically acceptable, it did make
a number of strong recommendations that could, if implemented,
reduce the numbers of animals used in laboratories.
The Nuffield Council is funded in part by the government and two
private foundations, one endowed by a pharmaceutical company. On
the day the report was issued, the British government announced
it would grant an additional $5.5 million to a new center working
on alternatives.
Nuffield Council on Bioethics. The ethics of research involving
animals. May 2005. Available at: www.nuffieldbioethics.org. Accessed
June 6, 2005.
Research Lab in Florida Goes Animal-Free
A Florida research company that originally planned to use animals
has had a change of heart. Two years ago, Suspended Animation,
Inc., had asked the Boca Raton City Council for a permit to build
a “cryopreservation” laboratory to study the freezing
and resuscitation of human bodies, planning to experiment on animals
in the process. But the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida worked
with PCRM to convince the city council to reject the company’s
permit. The company has since undergone a complete metamorphosis
that includes a commitment to leave animals out of its research
plans. It is now scheduled to open a facility in Boynton Beach.
New Microscope Advances Nonanimal Research
 |
| Dr. Steven Finkbeiner and lead author Montserrat Arrasate
use the robotic microscope. |
Scientists at the University of California, San Francisco, have
created a robotic microscope that revolutionizes in vitro research.
Using the power of computers, this device automates the time-consuming
and laborious process of following the lives and deaths of thousands
of individual cells. Capable of photographing as many as 600,000
neurons at once, or at different intervals of time, the microscope
allows researchers to visualize the effects on individual cells
of an agent such as a toxic chemical or therapeutic drug.
Researchers could use such a tool to test therapies for nearly
any disease at the cellular level; it is particularly applicable
to studies of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s
and Alzheimer’s. And in cancer research, not only could scientists
see what types of cells are affected by chemotherapy drugs, they
could monitor the very process by which a cell becomes cancerous.
Arrasate M, Finkbeiner S. Automated microscope system for determining
factors that predict neuronal fate. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S
A. 2005;102:3840-5.
Acne Associated with Dairy Intake
 A new Harvard study links dairy products to adolescent acne. A
group of 47,000 women from the Nurses’ Health Study was asked
to provide information about several aspects of their diet during
high school as well as any incidence of physician-diagnosed severe
teenage acne. Researchers noted a positive association with total
milk and skim milk consumption, along with instant breakfast drinks,
sherbet, cottage cheese, and cream cheese. No association was found
with several other foods often thought to affect acne, including
soda, french fries, chocolate candy, and pizza. The scientists
postulate that hormones and bioactive ingredients found in milk
may be responsible.
Adebamowo CA, Spiegelman D, Danby FW, Frazier AL, Willettt WC,
Holmes MD. High school dietary dairy intake and teenage acne. J
Am Acad Dermatol. 2005;52:207-14.
Fish May Increase Heart Disease Risk
 A recently published study reveals a little-known problem with
fish consumption. Finnish researchers have discovered that mercury,
a heavy metal and dangerous environmental poison commonly found
in fish, not only increases the risk of heart disease, but may
also negate the supposed heart-protective benefits of fish. Of
the 1,871 men studied in the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk
Factor Study, those with the highest mercury content had a 60 percent
increased risk of an acute coronary event and a 68 percent increased
risk for cardiovascular disease overall. The amount of mercury
found in the men was directly related to their fish intake.
Virtanen JK, Voutilainen S, Rissanen, TH, et al. Mercury, fish
oils, and risk of acute coronary events and cardiovascular disease,
coronary heart disease, and all-cause mortality in men in eastern
Finland. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2005;25:228-33.
Milk Consumption May Pose Risk Factor for Parkinson’s
A new study strengthens evidence suggesting a connection between
milk intake and Parkinson’s disease. Researchers from the
Honolulu Heart Program have found that adult milk intake doubles
the risk for the disease. After gathering data on the diets of
7,500 men, researchers tracked milk intake, as well as intake of
dietary calcium from non-dairy sources, along with other lifestyle
factors, for 30 years. A significant association was found only
for milk, with those drinking more than 16 ounces per day suffering
twice the incidence of Parkinson’s compared to those who
drank no milk at all. Researchers theorize that the contamination
of milk with pesticides and other neurotoxins may play a role.
Park M, Ross GW, Petrovitch H, et al. Consumption of milk and
calcium in midlife and the future risk of Parkinson’s disease. Neurology. 2005;64:1047-51.
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