A look back by EARA at some of the important discoveries in recent times The last year has once again seen an impressive list of medical achievements globally, as scientists find better treatments for devastating diseases. Among the breakthroughs reported are: Human trials are now closer for an Ebola vaccine with a team at UW–Madison School of Veterinary aiming to produce an experimental vaccine (March 2018) that has already been proven to work safely in monkeys.Researchers a

EARA has responded to a call by the Dutch Science Minister for the Biomedical Primate Research Centre (BPRC), in the Netherlands, an EARA member, to draw up a proposal, by the beginning of next year, to reduce the number of experiments with no-human primates (NHP) by up to 40%. Ahead of a debate, which took place in the Netherlands House of Representatives earlier this month, EARA wrote to Ingrid van Engelshoven, Minister of Education, Culture and Science and Carola Schouten,

Over the last 40 years, every Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine but one has depended on work using animals. From modern vaccines that protect us against polio, TB and meningitis, to the development of Tamoxifen that has led to a 30% fall in death rates from breast cancer, the role of research animals cannot be underestimated. In a recent post Understanding Animal Research pointed out the major milestones which have ensured the UK has some of the best laboratory animal wel

In response to calls to reduce the number of experiments with non-human primates (NHP) by up to 40% in the Netherlands the Dutch Parliament has now reached a compromise. In two motions, the parliament acknowledged the importance of animal research (including NHP) for scientific and medical progress and has stated that the 40% reduction should relate to commercial research, a goal supported by the Biomedical Primate Research Center, which has been the focus of these controvers

There is currently a bill before the Australian Parliament, introduced by Green Party senator Lee Rhiannon, proposing to ban the importation of non-human primates (NHPs) for research purposes. In preparation for the hearing of the bill in Parliament in February, the European Animal Research Association helped mobilise the European scientific community to stand up in support of NHP research. We, and other organisations in our network, wrote a letter to the Australian Parliamen

From Professor Miguel Nicolelis’ lab at Duke University in North Carolina – the team of researchers behind the exoskeleton which enabled a paraplegic patient to kick off the 2014 football World Cup – now comes news of two rhesus macaques which have been taught to control a wheelchair using thought alone. The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports on Thursday. The monkeys both had a wireless brain implant that picks up signals to do with movement and sensation.

Thanks to an innovative new surgery first tested in rabbits and macaques, twelve babies born with cataracts have regained their sight. The current way of treating cataracts is to surgically remove the clouded-over lenses and to replace them with artificial ones. But Kang Zhang and his colleagues at the Shiley Eye Institute at the University of California in San Diego found that stem cells around the lens can regrow healthy lenses if left undamaged by the surgery. By reducing

Last week, the Dutch Parliament passed a motion supported by all parties asking Government to investigate completely phasing out non-human primate research at the Biomedical Primate Research Centre (BPRC) and other research centres. In 2014, non-human primates accounted for less than 0.05% of animals used for scientific purposes in the Netherlands; yet non-human primate research plays an important role in developing medicines, combating infectious diseases and treating severe

The 2016 Olympic Games are due to begin in Rio de Janeiro this weekend. In the lead-up to this year’s Games, the Zika virus has never been far from the headlines. A number of top golfers and basketball players have decided to pull out and other athletes have also expressed their concerns, despite the risk to anyone who is not pregnant being minimal. As it is not currently mosquito season in Brazil, experts say the Olympics will not accelerate the spread of the virus. It is th

Over 400 primate and neuroscience researchers signed a letter supporting the use of non-human primates in neuroscience, which was published in the Guardian today. Coordinated by Understanding Animal Research (UAR), the letter emphasises the key role that primate research has played and continues to play in vital neuroscience research. EARA signed the letter alongside 20 other institutions, as well as reaching out to our networks in Europe to gain further support. The letter c

It’s likely that you have heard of ‘Dolly’ the sheep, famously announced as the first mammal ever to be successfully cloned, in February 1997 (Dolly was born in July 1996). Dolly was a product of Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT), which involved taking an adult cell from the udder of a female sheep and using the nucleus from that cell to replace the nucleus of an egg from another female sheep. The egg was successfully encouraged to fuse with the new nucleus using electric

There was no known widespread outbreaks of Ebola when the vaccine was developed 15 years ago using animals, says Kirk Leech, EARA Executive Director. There’s a worrying new Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) — the second the country has faced since the largest-ever Ebola virus epidemic swept West Africa from 2014 to 2015. The World Health Organization (WHO) learned about the new outbreak in early May, but suspects that, since April, a total of 44 peo

In one of the goriest scenes on television last year, Lord Grantham of Downton Abbey collapsed after violently coughing up blood all over the dining table. It turned out to be a burst peptic ulcer. In Downton Abbey’s 1925 world, the doctor advised Lord Grantham to keep a healthy diet and to abstain from alcohol. But nearly a century later we have a much better understanding of the cause and treatment of peptic ulcers, partly thanks to animal research. The Foundation for Biome

Last week, the Australian Senate released their report in response to a proposed law amendment to ban the importation of non-human primates to Australia for the purposes of scientific research. After receiving submissions opposing the bill from scientific organisations and individuals from around the globe, including EARA, the Senate has decided not to pass the bill. A group of Australian scientists called out to the scientific community in February for support in responding

Earlier this month Britain become the first country in the world to permit mitochondrial donation to be used in treatment and help prevent serious genetic diseases. The procedure, which allows IVF babies to be created using donor mitochondrial DNA, has the potential to help some 2,500 mother in the UK alone. Many are not only concerned with the ethics, but on how safe the procedure actually is. Previous research has used mice and rhesus monkeys, but are these animals a good i

The following guest post by Kirk Leech originally appeared in the Huffington Post. Mr. Leech is the Executive Director of the European Animal Research Association (EARA). People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) recently announced that Justin Bieber agrees that “Air France Sucks” for Sending Monkeys to Labs. That the singer is known to have kept monkeys as pets seems to have escaped the group’s opportunist propaganda eyes. Yet Bieber joins a growing number of celebr

Tierbefreiung Frankfurt are wrong. Keep Research Flying: Support Air France The European Animal Research Association (EARA) supports the use of Non-Human Primates (NHP’s) in research and urges the German scientific community to give its backing to Air France for continuing to transport these vitally important research animals. Kirk Leech, EARA Executive Director: “Die Nutzung nicht-humaner Primaten (NHP) in der Forschung wird immer ein sensibles Diskussionsthema sein. Es ist

Kirk Leech, Executive Director, writes a response to Jane Goodall, explaining the importance of allowing the transportation of animals for biomedical research. Published in ‘The Economic Voice’ Jane Goodall's concern for the welfare of Non-Human Primates (NHPs), in her email to Air France (The Economic Voice May 12th) whilst laudable, fails to recognise current realities. The Cynomolgus Macaque is recognized as a highly invasive species. It seriously undermines and destroys b

Kirk Leech, Executive Director describes the “… embarrassment to UK life sciences that British Airways and Virgin (Atlantic) will not transport animals for medical research”. EARA’s views are quoted alongside those of Jade Goodall and Peter Gabriel on the subject of Air France’s decision to continue transporting primates in this piece published in The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/may/20/jane-goodall-peter-gabriel-air-france-stop-monkeys-transport #PressR