Animal Experiments: Need To Understand the Necessity and Manner to Use

Animal experiments are inseparable part of medical research. Till now, advances in medical technology have been heavily dependent on animal experiments. The replacement of animal experiments with non-animal techniques often yields both ethical and technical advantages. Animal experiments can be replaced with alternative methods like in silico studies (computer-based) and in vitro studies (using biological components and cell cultures) which can be useful to reduce and replace animals for experiments. Despite encouraging results with such technology, there are still many areas where better understanding of disease mechanisms cannot be achieved without the use of animals although unethical animal experiments should be discouraged. Novel animal experimental models such as genetically modified and transgenic animals, zebrafish, fruitflies or roundworms, squids and microorganisms like bacteria and yeasts are useful to reduce the costs associated with mammalian models and to limit drug failures by incorporating animal studies earlier in the drug developmental process. Animal studies still have an important place in biomedical research but in academics as far as possible alternatives for these should be considered.