Abstract
Four of the U.K.'s leading medical and scientific organizations have decided to review the scientific and ethical basis for using nonhuman primates in biomedical research. Last year, activists forced Cambridge University to abandon plans for a primate research center ( Science , 30 January 2004, p. [605][1]) and halted construction of an animal research facility at Oxford University ( Science , 23 July 2004, p. [463][2]). But a spokesperson for the Royal Society, one of the groups involved, says the impetus for the review is scientific advances in alternatives to animal testing, not increasing pressure from animal-rights groups. The Academy of Medical Sciences, Medical Research Council, and Wellcome Trust are also participating. In a statement, the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection welcomed the effort but worried that it “will be little more than propaganda to alleviate growing scepticism amongst the general public.” [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.303.5658.605b [2]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.305.5683.463b
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