ORLANDO, FL — A well attended panel discussion held Sunday evening at the Society for Neuroscience (SFN) meeting explored the growing threat to animal research posed by an increasingly mainstream and powerful animal rights movement, and how neuroscientists should defend themselves and their work.
"The Society will be taking a much more proactive approach to educate its members and the public about the absolute necessity for animal research in neuroscience," declared moderator David Amaral, of the Center for Neuroscience at the University of California, Davis and chair of the SFN committee on animals in research.
Animal research isn't going away, pointed out panelist Robert Rich, executive associate dean and professor of medicine, microbiology and immunology at Emory University. "Some say that in vitro and in silico methods will render animal research unnecessary," he said. "This is pure fiction. In fact, advances in the molecular and computer sciences will lead to ...
