Classroom Questions

Questions for ‘Research without lab animals? New tech is making it possible’

a white lab rat stands and peers out of a plastic enclosure

The lab rat has become synonymous with biomedical studies. But many research teams are now looking for alternative methods to reduce the need for animals and as better, lower-cost and more humane ways to find answers.

fotografixx/E+/Getty Images Plus

By Science News Explores

To accompany ‘Research without lab animals? New tech is making it possible’

SCIENCE

Before Reading:

  1. Describe one specific way that using lab animals for research can help keep people safe. Do you believe that this benefit to humans justifies the use of this animal in research? Why or why not?
  2. What concerns might someone have regarding the use of lab animals? Do you believe addressing these concerns is very important, somewhat important, or unimportant? Explain your answer.

During Reading:

  1. List three examples from this story of types of animals that have served as lab models.
  2. What concern does Nicole Kleinstreuer express regarding the use of rats for drug testing?
  3. To support her concern, what drug does Kleinstreuer point to as an example? Briefly explain how this example supports her concern.
  4. List the “three Rs.”
  5. What tool did researchers use to speed up development and testing of the COVID-19 vaccine?
  6. Describe one similarity between an “organ on a chip” and a real organ. Describe one difference.
  7. Give one potential advantage of using an “organ on a chip” over a lab animal in testing a new drug.
  8. What can stem cells do that normal body cells cannot?
  9. Explain the underlying biological cause for the symptoms suffered by people with epidermolysis bullosa (EB).
  10. Liam Grover states that only one type of animal might serve as a lab animal in his studies. What type is that? Even when using this animal, what problem does Grover still encounter?

After Reading:

  1. Pick one of the “three Rs.” Briefly describe what this “R” means for animal research. Then, explain how a researcher might use artificial intelligence, or AI, to align with this “R.” Give one example of how this use of AI might translate into a benefit to humans.
  2. Is finding alternatives to the use of lab animals in research very important, somewhat important or unimportant? If you had answered this question before reading this story, would you have answered the same or differently? If you would have answered the same, point to something from this story that would reinforce your original belief. If you would answer differently, point to something from this story that contributed to the change in your opinion. Based on what you read in this story, do you think that use of animals in research will ever completely be eliminated?