I heard an item on Radio 4's Today programme this morning about the animal research centre in Oxford. Amongst other things, the item referred to the state-of-the-art facilities for housing the animals and to the commitment to reduce as far as possible the need to experiment on animals. Much of the research referred to was into illnesses such as Parkinson's Disease and Alzheimer's, progressive neurological illnesses that currently have no known cure.
At one point a scientist referred to work she was doing with embryonic stem cells, which could be made to grow into the same type of cells as occur in heart tissues. This work would reduce the need to experiment on animals.
I cannot remember (and at the time of posting Today is still on air so I cannot access the listen again function to check) if these were human embryonic stem cells, though I assumed they were as I listened.
The ordinariness with which the scientist made her comments is very thought provoking ...
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