Human clinical and epidemiological studies, cadavers, and computer simulators are faster, more reliable, less expensive, and more humane than animal tests. Ingenious scientists have developed a model “microbrain” from human brain cells to study tumors, as well as artificial skin and bone marrow. We can now test for skin irritancy on cells in a test tube, produce vaccines from human cell cultures, and perform pregnancy tests using blood and urine samples instead of killing rabbits. Says Gordon Baxter, cofounder of Pharmagene Laboratories, a drug research company that uses only human tissues and computers to develop and test drugs, “If you have information on human genes, what’s the point of going back to animals?”
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