Millions of laboratory animals have been 'missed'
Many laboratory animals, including mice, are used in the field of medical research, but animal welfare organizations have accused them of 'animal testing is unethical.' Meanwhile, a Dutch research team reported the results of a study that 'many of the animals used in biomedical experiments are not mentioned in published papers.'
Publication rate in preclinical research: a plea for preregistration
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Millions of animals may be missing from scientific studies | Science | AAAS
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/10/millions-animals-may-be-missing-scientific-studies
Scientists have long suspected that 'the laboratory animals mentioned in the paper are part of the whole, and many laboratory animals are not mentioned in the paper.' For example, if the results of an experiment are not as interesting as mentioned in the paper, or if they fail, it is possible that the animals used in the experiment will not be published in public.
However, it was difficult to find out how many animals were actually used by scientists in the experiment and track their fate, so it was difficult to investigate the difference between the total number of animals and the experimental animals that appear in the paper. That's right. Of course, researchers cannot conduct unlimited animal experiments, and generally the application for ethical approval must include the details of the experiment and the number of animals used, but this document is confidential. It is said that it is often not published as.
To investigate this issue, a Dutch research team has given permission to researchers in three divisions of the Utrecht University Medical Center to review research plans submitted to the Animal Ethics Commission in 2008 and 2009. I asked. The research team searched medical journals for articles published based on this research plan and analyzed their contents.
As a result of the analysis, it was found that 46% of the studies approved by the Animal Ethics Committee were published as papers, and 60% reported the results including lectures and poster presentations at academic conferences. However, of the 5590 animals used in the study, only 1471 were mentioned in published papers and lectures. In terms of percentage, only about 26% of the animals used in the experiment are publicly reported.
The proportions mentioned in papers differ depending on the type of animal, and while only 23% of mice and rats, which account for 90% of the total, were mentioned, relatively large experimental animals such as sheep, dogs, and pigs were mentioned. , 52% were mentioned.
Researchers point out that this pattern may be similar in research institutes around the world, with a total of millions of laboratory animals disappearing without mention. 'I think it's terrible that the percentage of published results for the animals used is so low,' said Michael Schlüssel, a medical statistician at Oxford University who was not involved in the study. ..
by Global Panorama
When the research team asked the researchers, 'Why didn't you mention laboratory animals in your results?', The most common reason was 'because the study did not achieve statistical significance.' .. In addition, the fact that the experiment itself was in an informal test stage and that there was a technical problem with the experimental model using animals were also cited as reasons why the experimental animals were not reported.
However, research co-author Kimberley Wever of the University of Radboud points out that neither reason is an excuse for not publishing the results of studies using laboratory animals. 'All animal studies should be published, and all studies are of value to the scientific community,' said Wever.
Wever argues that if scientists don't publish 'failed research,' other scientists could do similar research and fail as well, wasting time and money. Schlüssel also supported the idea that more research should be published, stating that groundbreaking research results alone are not sufficient as a basis for scientific evidence.
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