Road is now coming into use PA Photocall
Primates, which account for less than 0.5% of the animals in the facility, will be housed in state-of-the-art primate rooms (left), whilst the mouse room (below left) has individually ventilated units maintained at constant temperature and humidity. Research supported by the facility illuminates our understanding of diseases like Alzheimer’s (below)
translates directly to saving human lives.’ Almost all of the animals – 98% – in the new building will be rodents, the majority mice. There will also be some ferrets, fish, frogs (tadpoles are used as part of research), and primates. The primates, which are all macaque monkeys, account for under half of one per cent (0.5%) of the animals to be housed in the facility. If tadpoles and very young fish are counted, the proportion is even smaller. Reflecting the latest research in animal care, the new building’s standards will easily exceed UK regulations governing animal welfare, which are themselves already among the strictest in the world. Every individual room has its own air supply, whose pressure, temperature and humidity can be controlled. This complex environmental control system both contains the possibility of any pathogens (disease-causing microorganisms) spreading and allows for the right temperature and humidity for each species. The high hygiene levels protect both the animals and the staff working in the building, whose exposure to animal allergens is significantly reduced. The Veterinary Services staff, who look after animal health and welfare, will see major improvements in the efficiency with which they are able to carry out their work. The team, which includes both veterinary surgeons and behavioural zoologists, has three main functions: looking after animal health and welfare and advising on best practice; clinical diagnostics including health monitoring; and training those who will work with animals. The Biomedical Sciences Building brings the team under one roof with the animals in their care, whereas previously they had to move between a number of
different buildings. It also provides some dedicated training space, which they have not previously had, together with a muchimproved diagnostic laboratory which will extend the range of services available to improve animal welfare. The Head of Veterinary Services believes that the team’s new facilities will be helpful all round. ‘Clearly for us personally, the working environment is far better, but it’s the animals’ welfare that is important,’ she says. ‘We are here to look after the animals. The better our facilities, the better we can do that.’ And animal welfare, a good in itself, also supports good science. ‘The better the standard of the building, the better the welfare of the animals, the better the science,’ says Dr David Priestman, a researcher who will use the Biomedical Sciences Building. ‘Animals in good health and with minimal stress give reliable, reproducible research data.’ For more information about animal research at Oxford, visit www.ox.ac.uk/ animal_research/. BSIP, MENDIL/SPL
enormous amount we simply don’t know: the interaction between all the different parts of a living system, from molecules to cells to systems like respiration and circulation, is incredibly complex. Even if we knew how every element worked and interacted with every other element – which we don’t – a computer hasn’t been invented that has the power to reproduce all of those complex interactions, while clearly you cannot reproduce them all in a test tube. ‘Humans reproduce all these things, of course, and humans are used more than animals in research at Oxford. However, there are some things for which it’s ethically unacceptable to use humans. There are also some variables that you could not control in human subjects but which you can control in a mouse, such as diet, housing, clean air, humidity, temperature and genetic makeup. ‘Genetic manipulation is especially important here. Mice share over 90% of their genes with humans. In a mouse, we are able to knock out a particular gene so that you can establish what the gene does by observing the mouse. That is increasingly vital for understanding the human body and human disease. ‘Even very young fish and tadpoles can tell us enormous amounts about early development to aid research into what can go wrong here, with results that are directly relevant to humans. ‘My own research area is stroke. My research group studies neurology in rats and mice. This interacts with our studies in human patients. I am also an honorary consultant for the NHS, providing emergency treatment for stroke patients, who without the right treatment at the right time will die or be severely disabled. I see first hand every day how scientific research using animals
Blueprint November 2008
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