http://jezebel.com/5822172/new-technique-will-save-animals-from-botox-testing
Scientists have developed a method of testing Botox on cells in a petri dish rather than live animals. And this could be part of a larger move away from animal testing.
Botox producer Allergan Inc. developed the test over the last 10 years, and the FDA just approved it last month. If it's approved in other countries too, it could reduce Allergan's dependence on animal testing by 95%.
And Botox isn't the only drug scientists hope to begin testing in a dish rather than on a living thing — one molecular biologist is developing a way to test drugs on liver cells grown in special tunnels, while another team is working on a technique to test for birth defects on stem cells.
Testing on cells in dishes isn't perfect — in some cases, scientists may need to follow up with animal tests to make sure that what's safe for isolated cells doesn't harm a living organism. But the new techniques could provide effective first-line testing, and accomplish something everybody wants: reducing the number of animals that die so that humans can live.
This is a great step towards the end of animal experimentation. Let's hope more like this come soon.
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