The platform “Understanding animal experiments”, an information platform of German scientific organizations, scientific and medical societies as well as German colleges and universities, is probably already familiar to some interested readers. There is now a new counterpart to this, the information platform “Understanding alternatives”. The authors want to counter exaggerated expectations of alternative methods with a realistic picture, as they explain.

Three topics relating to “alternatives” to animal testing have already been presented on the platform: organoids, 3D bioprinting and multi-organ chip technology. The content will be further developed in line with scientific progress. For each topic, the method is presented, its function and application described, scientific examples are given and advantages as well as disadvantages compared to animal testing are explained. The descriptions are followed by videos and interviews.

The term “alternatives to animal testing” is not uncontroversial. One reason for this is that methods developed without animal testing often follow a different investigation path in order to answer the same or comparable questions. This is why many scientists do not see this as an alternative or replacement for animal testing in the strict sense, but simply as new methods without animal testing or animal use.

The Einstein Center 3R is an association of all relevant Berlin research institutions such as Charité, Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, the Berlin Institute of Health, the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine and the Robert Koch Institute.

Source and further information:
https://www.alternativen-verstehen.berlin/startseite