New 'Cruelty-Free' Test Developed
by Amanda Katz
Two German scientists have developed a new method of determining whether or not a substance is inflammatory that does not require the use of animals.
The new test instead involves the use of human white blood cells grown in test tubes. They are exposed to the substance being tested, and then examined to determine if the cells have released molecules called cytokines that cause an immune system response likely to produce inflammation.
According to the scientists who developed the test, University of Leipzig researchers Karen Nieber and Sunna Hauschildt, it may eventually reduce the number of laboratory experiments involving animals that are conducted by as much as 25 percent.
A substantial number of so-called "cruelty-free" laboratory tests have been developed and adopted by researchers during the last decade, according to laboratory animal welfare activist Herbert Cohen.
"The widespread adoption of this test would be another step forward in reducing the amount of suffering experienced by animals in laboratories," said Cohen.
