So They Say

Verbatim excerpts from the media on the conduct of science. The Middle Ground in Animal Rights Through developing principles governing specific aspects of research, professional and regulatory groups are now formulating standards and procedures to ensure that laboratory animals are treated humanely. The overall aim is not to halt all animal research but rather to refine experiments to minimize animal pain, suffering, and distress; to reduce the number of animals used; and to replace animals with


Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
9:00
Share

It is unfortunate that the search for moderate reform in animal research is so often ignored in favor of the more flamboyant arguments at either extreme. Most members of our society believe that there are morally important differences between humans and animals, but few would argue that these differences bestow on humans complete freedom in their treatment of animals. The real challenge lies in determining an ethically defensible intermediate position regarding our duties toward nonhuman animals.

This has led to what many consider an unprecedented triumph of politics over science. Laboratories churn out press releases, the scientific equivalent of junk mail. Physicists publicly hail their results as though they were bulletins on the Second Coming, simply because if they did otherwise the politicians and the funding agencies might not believe they were getting anything for their money.

"It used to be," says Dick Taylor, a professor at the Stanford Linear ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to digital editions of The Scientist, as well as TS Digest, feature stories, more than 35 years of archives, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here
3D illustration of a gold lipid nanoparticle with pink nucleic acid inside of it. Purple and teal spikes stick out from the lipid bilayer representing polyethylene glycol.
February 2025, Issue 1

A Nanoparticle Delivery System for Gene Therapy

A reimagined lipid vehicle for nucleic acids could overcome the limitations of current vectors.

View this Issue
Enhancing Therapeutic Antibody Discovery with Cross-Platform Workflows

Enhancing Therapeutic Antibody Discovery with Cross-Platform Workflows

sartorius logo
Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Lonza
An illustration of animal and tree silhouettes.

From Water Bears to Grizzly Bears: Unusual Animal Models

Taconic Biosciences
Sex Differences in Neurological Research

Sex Differences in Neurological Research

bit.bio logo

Products

Photo of a researcher overseeing large scale production processes in a laboratory.

Scaling Lentiviral Vector Manufacturing for Optimal Productivity

Thermo Fisher Logo
Collage-style urban graphic of wastewater surveillance and treatment

Putting Pathogens to the Test with Wastewater Surveillance

An illustration of an mRNA molecule in front of a multicolored background.

Generating High-Quality mRNA for In Vivo Delivery with lipid nanoparticles

Thermo Fisher Logo
Tecan Logo

Tecan introduces Veya: bringing digital, scalable automation to labs worldwide