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Animal testing alternative has ticks trembling at the knees
November 06, 2006The thousands of test animals currently required to evaluate new pesticides could be replaced by tricking ticks into setting up home on a faux cow hide, reports Jennifer Rohn for Chemistry & Industry, the magazine of the SCI.
The hide, recently developed by scientists in Switzerland, consists of a skin-like silicone membrane, complete with hair that rests over a layer of cow blood. The insects are so comfortable with the faux-cow that they set up home, copulated and laid eggs.
But it is knee trembling of a different kind that researchers measure to evaluate the early signs of pesticide toxicity. Researchers use the leg tremblings of the tick (Ioxedes ricinus) to observe the early stages of central nervous system damage, something that is not possible using live animals. Thomas Kröber and Patrick Guerin at the University of Neuchâtel confirmed the effectiveness of the system by coating the membrane with the chemical firponil, and then measuring central nerve system damage (leg trembling) and measuring tick mortality (Pest Management Science DOI:10.1002/ps.1293).
Vicky Robinson, chief executive of the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research, said: This research takes a simple idea and applies it to great effect, resulting in a potentially significant impact on animal use. Most importantly, it demonstrates that finding ways to reduce the use of animals in research and testing is as much about improving the science as it is about considering the welfare of animals.'
More than 10,000 animals are used every year to test new tick-fighting chemicals, a figure that is likely to increase with the introduction of REACH, the EU new chemicals legislation, next year. Pesticides targeting ticks are constantly being updated and tested, because pests develop resistance so quickly. Ticks transmit several serious diseases to both animals and humans, including Lyme disease.
Society of Chemical Industry
Vicky Robinson, chief executive of the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research, said: This research takes a simple idea and applies it to great effect, resulting in a potentially significant impact on animal use. Most importantly, it demonstrates that finding ways to reduce the use of animals in research and testing is as much about improving the science as it is about considering the welfare of animals.'
More than 10,000 animals are used every year to test new tick-fighting chemicals, a figure that is likely to increase with the introduction of REACH, the EU new chemicals legislation, next year. Pesticides targeting ticks are constantly being updated and tested, because pests develop resistance so quickly. Ticks transmit several serious diseases to both animals and humans, including Lyme disease.
Society of Chemical Industry
Animal Testing Current Events and Animal Testing News RSSResearchers explore new ways to prevent spinal cord damage using a vitamin B3 precursor
Substances naturally produced by the human body may one day help prevent paralysis following a spinal cord injury, according to researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College. A recent $2.5 million grant from the New York State Spinal Cord Injury Research Board will fund their research investigating this possibility.
Using insects to test for drug safety
Insects, such as some moths and fruit flies, react to microbial infection in the same way as mammals and so can be used to test the efficiency of new drugs, thereby reducing the need for animal testing.
Hopkins-designed animal TB 'tracker' to speed drug and vaccine studies
Johns Hopkins researchers have developed a novel way to monitor in real time the behavior of the TB bacterium in mouse lungs noninvasively pinpointing the exact location of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Students embed stem cells in sutures to enhance healing
Johns Hopkins biomedical engineering students have demonstrated a practical way to embed a patient's own adult stem cells in the surgical thread that doctors use to repair serious orthopedic injuries such as ruptured tendons.
Mice and men should have more in common in clinical trials
Just as no two humans are the same, a Purdue University scientist has shown treating mice more as individuals in laboratory testing cuts down on erroneous results and could significantly reduce the cost of drug development.
Durability of dental fillings improves if the enzyme activity of teeth is inhibited
Composite dental fillings have one problematic feature, in that the bond between the filling and the dental tissue deteriorates over time - in fact, sometimes by as much as 50 per cent in one year. As the bond deteriorates, it may allow bacteria to enter and this brings a high risk of further tooth decay.
ESF study helps stop drugs slipping through safety net
Recent advances in genetic screening will lead to safer pharmaceutical drugs, with reduced adverse side effects, if the methods are incorporated in clinical development.
Newly approved ocular safety methods reduce animal testing
Federal regulatory agencies have accepted recommendations of the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM) for two methods that can reduce live animal use for ocular safety testing, the committee announced today.
New technology may prevent vitamin B12 deficient seniors and vegetarians from needing injections
For those patients who receive the nearly 40 million intramuscular injections per year to treat their B12 deficiency, a new oral option may soon exist.
Cell death suppression increases efficacy of M2 vaccines
Significant public attention has recently been focused on the development of new anti-influenza (flu) vaccines that provide protection against a broad spectrum of viral strains. One proposed strategy is to utilize conserved viral protein, M2. Clinical trials of M2-containing influenza vaccines were recently initiated by US and European companies.
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