PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Study reveals animal research bias in experimentation oversight committee membership

Animal experimenters and laboratory veterinarians comprise 80 percent of oversight committees at leading US institutions

2014-04-01
(Press-News.org) Denver — Committees that are federally mandated to review, approve, and monitor the use of animals in experiments—called Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUC)—are dominated by animal research interests, according to a study presented today (Wednesday April 2) at the 2014 Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research (PRIM&R) IACUC Conference in Denver.

Using the federal Freedom of Information Act, researchers from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and the University of California–San Diego School of Medicine obtained the current IACUC rosters of the 25 largest institutional recipients of National Institutes of Health funds, which includes prominent universities and research centers.

The rosters revealed that, on average, 63 percent of IACUCs are composed of animal experimenters, 17 percent are veterinarians (most of whom conduct or facilitate animal experiments), 10 percent are nonscientist members of the institution, and 10 percent are members of the public. Ninety-seven percent of IACUC chairpersons are animal experimenters.

The preponderance of animal research interests on IACUCs—essentially 80 percent of members are animal experimenters and laboratory veterinarians—is potentially a contributing source of deficiencies in the IACUC oversight system documented by researchers and government audits, including committee bias in favor of approving as many as 98 percent of experimental protocols, in spite of their serious inadequacies. Such an imbalance also likely contributed to previous reports from the few public IACUC members that they feel their input, which is required by law, is marginalized. Because U.S. IACUCs employ a majority voting system, arithmetic alone places the ultimate authority of the committees in the hands of animal researchers.

"The bias we observed in favor of appointing animal experimenters and laboratory veterinarians to IACUCs means the decks are always stacked against animals, modern non-animal research methods are given short shrift, and the input of an increasingly critical public is being marginalized," says study co-author Dr. Lawrence Hansen, a professor of neuroscience and pathology at the University of California–San Diego School of Medicine.

Study co-author Dr. Alka Chandna, a senior laboratory oversight specialist at PETA who presented the research in Denver, says, "IACUC composition at these and other facilities needs a drastic overhaul to ensure that input from people who don't have a vested interest in animal use is more fairly reflected in deliberations about publicly funded experiments on animals."

While U.S. regulations don't require that a balance of IACUC members be maintained, in Sweden and Australia one-half and one-third, respectively, of animal research oversight committees must be composed of non-affiliated laypersons and animal welfare experts.

INFORMATION:

A copy of the research poster that was presented at the PRIM&R conference is available upon request. For more information, please visit PETA.org.


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Fruitfly study: Epilepsy drug target implications for sleep disruption in brain disorders

Fruitfly study: Epilepsy drug target implications for sleep disruption in brain disorders
2014-04-01
PHILADELPHIA — A new study in a mutant fruitfly called sleepless (sss) confirmed that the enzyme GABA transaminase, which is the target of some epilepsy drugs, contributes to sleep loss. The findings, published online in Molecular Psychiatry, were led by Amita Sehgal, PhD, head of the Chronobiology Program at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine. The findings shed light on mechanisms that may be shared between sleep disruption and some neurological disorders. A better understanding of this connection could enable treatments that target both types ...

ED dental care treatment raises access, cost issues for policymakers, Rutgers study finds

2014-04-01
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – The use of emergency departments for dental care – especially by young adults in low-income communities – is presenting policymakers with a challenge, according to a Rutgers report which offers several remedies including expanding hours at the dentist's office. "Emergency departments are poorly equipped to deal definitively with dental and oral health needs," said Kristen Lloyd, senior analyst at Rutgers' Center for State Health Policy and lead author of the report. "Still, many people seek care in emergency departments for nontraumatic dental ...

Schools have limited success in reducing bullying, new analysis finds

2014-04-01
Two UCLA professors who conducted the most thorough analysis to date of studies on school bullying have found that K-12 schools' efforts to curtail bullying are often disappointing. The study revealed that schools are trying many different approaches to protect students, and while the more comprehensive programs have been the most effective, they require substantial commitment and school resources to be successful. "Band-Aid solutions, such as holding one assembly a year that discourages bullying, do not work," said Jaana Juvonen, a UCLA professor of psychology ...

Oxytocin, the 'love' hormone, promotes group lying, according to Ben-Gurion U. researchers

2014-04-01
BEER-SHEVA, Israel…April 1, 2014 – According to a new study by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and the University of Amsterdam, oxytocin caused participants to lie more to benefit their groups, and to do so more quickly and without expectation of reciprocal dishonesty from their group. Oxytocin is a hormone the body naturally produces to stimulate bonding. The research was published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS). "Our results suggest people are willing to bend ethical rules to help the people close to ...

Factor present in gestational and type 2 diabetes could provide new treatment options

2014-04-01
New research reveals that both pregnant women with diabetes and with type 2 diabetics have high levels of a fat metabolite that impairs pancreatic cells from secreting insulin. The findings, which are published in the April 1 issue of the Cell Press journal Cell Metabolism, suggest that blocking the effects of this fat metabolite may help prevent and treat diabetes. In nearly one-fifth of pregnancies, diabetes can arise (called gestational diabetes), and when this happens, it puts the woman at an increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes later in life. To gain better ...

Obesity primes the colon for cancer, according to NIH study

2014-04-01
Obesity, rather than diet, causes changes in the colon that may lead to colorectal cancer, according to a study in mice by the National Institutes of Health. The finding bolsters the recommendation that calorie control and frequent exercise are not only key to a healthy lifestyle, but a strategy to lower the risk for colon cancer, the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. Paul Wade, Ph.D., and Thomas Eling, Ph.D., scientists at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of NIH, led a collaborative team that made ...

Common molecular defect offers treatment hope for group of rare disorders

2014-04-01
DURHAM, N.C. – Duke Medicine researchers studying tiny, antennae-like structures called cilia have found a potential way to ease some of the physical damage of numerous genetic disorders that result when these essential cellular components are defective. Different genetic defects cause dysfunction of the cilia, which often act as sensory organs that receive signals from other cells. Individually, disorders involving cilia are rare, but collectively the more than 100 diseases in the category known as ciliopathies affect as many as one in 1,000 people. Ciliopathies are ...

Swimming pool urine combines with chlorine to pose health risks

2014-04-01
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A new study shows how uric acid in urine generates potentially hazardous "volatile disinfection byproducts" in swimming pools by interacting with chlorine, and researchers are advising swimmers to observe "improved hygiene habits." Chlorination is used primarily to prevent pathogenic microorganisms from growing. The disinfection byproducts include cyanogen chloride (CNCl) and trichloramine (NCl3). Cyanogen chloride is a toxic compound that affects many organs, including the lungs, heart and central nervous system by inhalation. Trichloramine has ...

Got acne? There's an App for that!

Got acne? Theres an App for that!
2014-04-01
CHICAGO --- Acne sufferers around the world are using an iPhone app created at Northwestern University to learn how certain foods affect their skin conditions. The app, called "diet & acne," can be downloaded from the iTunes app store for free. It uses data from a systematic analysis of peer-reviewed research studies to show people if there is or is not scientific evidence linking acne to foods such as chocolate, fat, sugar and whey protein. "Users may be surprised to learn that there is no conclusive evidence from large randomized controlled trials that have linked ...

Plugged in but powered down

2014-04-01
It's not news that being a couch potato is bad for your health. Lack of physical activity is associated with a range of diseases from diabetes to heart attacks. It now turns out that young men who have experienced depression early in life may be especially vulnerable to becoming sedentary later in life. And particularly to spending large amounts of time online each day. A study of 761 adults in Montreal who were identified at the age of 20 as suffering from the symptoms of depression (in 2007-08) were asked by researchers to keep track of how much leisure time they spent ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Firms that read more perform better

Tightly tied waist cord of saree underskirt may pose cancer risk, warn doctors

10% of children in high-burden tuberculosis settings may develop the disease by age 10

Health experts push for the elimination of a ‘remarkably harmful toxin’

University of Tennessee, Lockheed Martin expand Master Research Agreement

Testing thousands of RNA enzymes helps find first ‘twister ribozyme’ in mammals

Groundbreaking study provides new evidence of when Earth was slushy

International survey of more than 1600 biomedical researchers on the perceived causes of irreproducibility of research results

Integrating data from different experimental approaches into one model is challenging – this study presents a community-based, full-scale in silico model of the rat hippocampal CA1 region that integra

SwRI awarded grant to characterize Las Moras Springs watershed

Water overuse in MATOPIBA could mean failure to meet up to 40% of local demand for crop irrigation

An extra year of education does not protect against brain aging

Researchers from Uppsala and Magdeburg obtain an ERC Synergy Grant to advance cancer immunotherapy

Deaf male mosquitoes don’t mate

Recognizing traumatic brain injury as a chronic condition fosters better care over the survivor’s lifetime

SwRI’s Dr. James Walker receives Distinguished Scientist Award from Hypervelocity Impact Society

A mother’s health problems pose a risk to her children

Ensuring a bright future for diamond electronics and sensors

The American Pediatric Society selects Dr. Maria Trent as the Recipient of the 2025 David G. Nichols Health Equity Award

The first 3D view of the formation and evolution of globular clusters

Towards a hydrogen-powered future: highly sensitive hydrogen detection system

Scanning synaptic receptors: A game-changer for understanding psychiatric disorders

High-quality nanomechanical resonators with built-in piezoelectricity

ERC Synergy Grants for 57 teams tackling major scientific challenges

Nordic research team receives €13 million to explore medieval book culture 

The origin of writing in Mesopotamia is tied to designs engraved on ancient cylinder seals

Explaining science through dance

Pioneering neuroendocrinologist's century of discovery launches major scientific tribute series

Gendered bilingualism in post-colonial Korea

Structural safety monitoring of buildings with color variations

[Press-News.org] Study reveals animal research bias in experimentation oversight committee membership
Animal experimenters and laboratory veterinarians comprise 80 percent of oversight committees at leading US institutions