̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Home Office

UK organisations release statistics for use of animals in research in 2023

Anonymous — Wed, 11 Sep 2024 08:00:00 +0000

̽��ֱ��statistics for the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge are available on our website as part of our ongoing commitment to transparency and openness around the use of animals in research.

This coincides with the publication of the Home Office’s report on the statistics of scientific procedures on living animals in Great Britain in 2023.

̽��ֱ��10 organisations carried out 1,435,009 procedures, 54% (over half) of the 2,681,686 procedures carried out on animals for scientific research in Great Britain in 2023. Of these 1,435,009 procedures, more than 99% were carried out on mice, fish and rats and 82% were classified as causing pain equivalent to, or less than, an injection.

̽��ֱ��10 organisations are listed below alongside the total number of procedures they carried out in 2023. This is the ninth consecutive year that organisations have come together to publicise their collective statistics and examples of their research.

Organisation	Number of Procedures (2023)
̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge	223,787
̽��ֱ�� of Oxford	194,913
̽��ֱ��Francis Crick Institute	192,920
UCL	176,019
̽��ֱ�� of Edinburgh	139,881
Medical Research Council	124,156
̽��ֱ�� of Manchester	110,885
King's College London	109,779
̽��ֱ�� of Glasgow	102,089
Imperial College London	60,580
TOTAL	1,435,009

In total, 69 organisations have voluntarily published their 2023 animal research statistics.

All organisations are committed to the ethical framework called the ‘3Rs’ of replacement, reduction and refinement. This means avoiding or replacing the use of animals where possible, minimising the number of animals used per experiment and optimising the experience of the animals to improve animal welfare. However, as institutions expand and conduct more research, the total number of animals used can rise even if fewer animals are used per study.

All organisations listed are signatories to the Concordat on Openness on Animal Research in the UK, which commits them to being more open about the use of animals in scientific, medical and veterinary research in the UK. More than 125 organisations have signed the Concordat, including UK universities, medical research charities, research funders, learned societies and commercial research organisations.

Wendy Jarrett, Chief Executive of Understanding Animal Research, which developed the Concordat on Openness, said:

“Animal research remains a small but vital part of the quest for new medicines, vaccines and treatments for humans and animals. Alternative methods are gradually being phased in, but, until we have sufficient reliable alternatives available, it is important that organisations that use animals in research maintain the public’s trust in them. By providing this level of information about the numbers of animals used, and the experience of those animals, as well as details of the medical breakthroughs that derive from this research, these Concordat signatories are helping the public to make up their own minds about how they feel about the use of animals in scientific research in Great Britain.”

Professor Anna Philpott, Head of the School of Biological Sciences at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, said:

“Cambridge research is changing how we understand health and ageing, and how we treat disease. Animal research continues to play a small but vital role in this work and in the development of ground-breaking new medical devices and drug treatments. We are committed to using animals only where there is no alternative as a means of making progress.”

Story adapted from a press release by Understanding Animal Research.

CASE STUDY: Egging on vital research

̽��ֱ��actin cytoskeleton is a system of long filaments, vital in embryonic development. Problems with its control have been linked to the kidney problems experienced by patients with the rare conditions called Lowe syndrome and Dent disease 2. But since the actin cytoskeleton is in all the cells of the body it has been very difficult to translate an understanding of it into a drug treatment.

Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow Dr Jenny Gallop at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge has created a simpler version of the actin cytoskeleton that she can study in the lab. A key component is cytoplasm extracted from frog eggs.

Gallop’s lab keeps around 120 female frogs that are induced to lay eggs in a way that matches their natural cycles. This requires a hormone injection - just a mild discomfort to the frogs - every three to four months to make them ovulate. Over time, Gallop has refined her methods so that only half the original number of frogs are now needed.

This has enabled her to understand what might be going wrong in Lowe syndrome and Dent disease 2 – and realise that an existing drug might be able to help. Alpelisib has already been approved to safely treat breast cancer, and Gallop is now applying for approval to test whether it works to treat the kidney problems in patients with Dent disease 2.

Repurposing an existing drug means the long drug-development process has already been done. Conversations with people affected by the diseases inspire Gallop’s team to keep going. And the frogs have played a vital role in this decade-long journey.

Read the full story

̽��ֱ��10 organisations in Great Britain that carry out the highest number of animal procedures - those used in medical, veterinary and scientific research – have released their annual statistics today.

Jacqueline Garget

African Clawed Frogs held in water-filled tanks

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

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UK organisations release annual statistics for use of animals in research

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 08:46:28 +0000

The statistics for the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge are available on the website as part of our ongoing commitment to transparency and openness around the use of animals in research.

This coincides with the publication of the Home Office’s report on the statistics of scientific procedures on living animals in Great Britain in 2022.

̽��ֱ��ten organisations carried out 1,434,403 procedures, 52% or just over half of the 2,761,204 procedures carried out on animals for scientific research in Great Britain in 2022. Of these 1,434,403 procedures, more than 99% were carried out on mice, fish and rats and 82% were classified as causing a similar level of pain, or less, as an injection.

̽��ֱ��ten organisations are listed below alongside the total number of procedures they carried out in 2022. This is the eighth consecutive year that organisations have come together to publicise their collective statistics and examples of their research.

Organisation	Number of Procedures (2022)
̽��ֱ�� of Oxford	209,544
̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge	206,992
Francis Crick Institute	190,981
̽��ֱ�� of Edinburgh	154,764
UCL	148,050
Medical Research Council	136,732
King's College London	123,228
̽��ֱ�� of Glasgow	108,204
̽��ֱ�� of Manchester	95,004
Imperial College London	60,904
TOTAL	1,434,403

In total, 64 organisations have published their 2022 animal research statistics.

All organisations are committed to the ‘3Rs’ of replacement, reduction and refinement. This means avoiding or replacing the use of animals where possible; minimising the number of animals used per experiment and optimising the experience of the animals to improve animal welfare. However, as institutions expand and conduct more research, the total number of animals used can rise even if fewer animals are used per study.

All organisations are signatories to the Concordat on Openness on Animal Research in the UK, a commitment to be more open about the use of animals in scientific, medical and veterinary research in the UK. More than 125 organisations have signed the Concordat including UK universities, medical research charities, research funders, learned societies and commercial research organisations.

Wendy Jarrett, Chief Executive of Understanding Animal Research, which developed the Concordat on Openness, said:

Professor Anne C Ferguson-Smith, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research & International Partnerships) and Arthur Balfour Professor of Genetics, said:

“In Cambridge we have careful monitoring of our animal usage, applying reduction, replacement and refinement of animal work to ensure that they are used when there is no alternative. For example, animals are used in research tackling neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Multiple Sclerosis, and in repairing damaged nerves to restore movement to paralysed limbs.

We want to make major improvements to people’s lives, and we have a moral responsibility to ensure new treatments or procedures are safe, by assessing them first on animals, before developing approaches to apply them to humans.”

Adapted from a press release by Understanding Animal Research.

CASE STUDY: ̽��ֱ��Ugly Naked Guys who age healthily, don’t feel pain, and rarely get cancer

“Naked mole-rats have many weird features, and we’re trying to work out the underpinning genetic or physiological basis for these. That knowledge could be used to help companion animals or humans with problems such as inflammatory pain, arthritis and cancer," says Professor Ewan St. John Smith, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Department of Pharmacology.

A team at Cambridge has revealed that naked mole-rats have a genetic variation that makes acid act as an anaesthetic to their nerves. Understanding this better could help develop new pain-relieving drugs for human inflammatory conditions like arthritis.

̽��ֱ��animals have exceptional cancer resistance compared to humans. ̽��ֱ��team found that mutations in naked mole-rat DNA occur at a slower rate than in mouse DNA, and suggest that naked mole-rats have an ultra-good immune system that spots and kills cancer cells.

Naked mole-rats live over 30 years and age healthily. ̽��ֱ��team is also investigating how the animal’s brain changes with age, offering potential clues for healthy aging and age-related illnesses like dementia.

̽��ֱ��ten organisations in Great Britain that carry out the highest number of animal procedures - those used in medical, veterinary and scientific research – have released their annual statistics today.

Animal research aims to improve the prospects for future organ transplant patients

Two researchers wearing masks in operating theatre

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

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Cambridge statistician appointed as Home Office’s Chief Scientific Adviser

cjb250 — Tue, 29 Aug 2017 09:40:31 +0000

During his secondment, Professor Aston's role will be to ensure that departmental decisions are informed by the best science and engineering evidence and advice. ̽��ֱ��Chief Scientific Adviser offers advice directly to ministers and officials and works together with the Chief Scientific Advisers’ network to advise on issues that cut across government.

Professor Aston specialises in applied statistics but will provide advice on a range of issues at the Home Office. He was, until recently, a trustee of the Alan Turing Institute, and has previously spent much of his career working in the United States and Taiwan. As well as his position in Cambridge’s Statslab, he is also Co-Director of the EPSRC Centre for Mathematical and Statistical Analysis of Multimodal Clinical Imaging Data and on the management board of the Cantab Capital Institute for the Mathematics of Information.

Speaking ahead of starting his new role, Professor Aston said: “I am honoured and privileged to be joining the Home Office as its Chief Scientific Adviser. I’m looking forward to working with the scientific community to understand the issues facing the Department over the coming years and identify how science, engineering and analysis can help to overcome those challenges.”

Patsy Wilkinson, Second Permanent Secretary at the Home Office, said: “Professor Aston brings with him a wealth of experience that will be of great value in ensuring the work we do to keep our country safe and secure continues to be supported by the latest scientific advice and research.”

Professor Sir Mark Walport, the Government Chief Scientific Adviser, added: “Having access to high-quality expert scientific advice is critical to every government department. I am delighted to welcome someone with Professor Aston’s expertise to the Chief Scientific Advisers’ network and look forward to working with him.”

Professor Aston’s appointment follows the retirement of Professor Bernard Silverman earlier this year. He will join the Home Office on 4 September.

Professor John Aston, Professor of Statistics at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, has been appointed as the Home Office’s new Chief Scientific Adviser.

I’m looking forward to working with the scientific community to understand the issues facing the [Home Office] over the coming years and identify how science, engineering and analysis can help to overcome those challenges

John Aston

Professor John Aston

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For image use please see separate credits above.

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