Animal Research

There may be zealots of “animal lib,” as Kevles points out, but no more so than the zealots of animal research. There is a growing number of biomedical scientists and physicians who believe we must reevaluate the overemphasis on unreliable and archaic animal research that is so strongly advocated by those whose livelihoods depend on it, or by those who are scared into thinking animal research will provide them with a desperately sought-after cure. Wastefully, non-human animal models are, more often than not, selected without concern for their predictive utility to the human condition. The lack of quantitative metabolic data on model species, especially on humans, precludes direct comparisons between models. This means that a lot of research dollars are being thrown away on studies that will never help any humans, all because the health bureaucracy encourages animal research despite its lack of utility.

K.P. STOLLER, MD

Beverly Hills