Almost all drugs, medical devices, surgical methods and treatments we use in hospitals were developed with the help of laboratory animals. The use of animal experiments is often the first step in the development of a new treatment.
Animals in research are essential because they allow us to gain knowledge that we cannot simply obtain with an experiment in a test tube. For example, new drugs are tested in humans only after they have been shown to be safe and work in laboratory animals. But basic research with laboratory animals is also essential for the development of new treatments and surgical methods. A lot of scientific questions can be answered using alternatives such as cell cultures and computer models, but unfortunately the context of the whole organism is essential in some cases. This makes animal testing indispensable in biomedical research for the time being.
Test animals have not only contributed to a happier and healthier life for humans. Many of our diseases, from cancer to epilepsy, also occur in animals. So many vaccines and antibiotics are also prescribed in animals, and scientific research using laboratory animals therefore keeps our pets (and farm animals) healthy too.
Source: Animal Research Info Point
Click on the links below to learn more about some of the research areas at the VUB where laboratory animals are used, how they are used and what the results of these studies are.