Trends in animal use at US research facilities.

Minimising the use of animals in experiments is universally recognised by scientists, governments and advocates as an ethical cornerstone of research. Yet, despite growing public opposition to animal experimentation, mounting evidence that animal studies often do not translate to humans, and the development of new research technologies, a number of countries have reported increased animal use in recent years. In the USA--one of the world's largest users of animals in experiments--a lack of published data on the species most commonly used in laboratories (eg, mice, rats and fish) has prevented such assessments.

Does accreditation by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International (AAALAC) ensure greater compliance with animal welfare laws?

Accreditation of nonhuman animal research facilities by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International (AAALAC) is widely considered the "gold standard" of commitment to the well being of nonhuman animals used in research. AAALAC-accredited facilities receive preferential treatment from funding agencies and are viewed favorably by the general public. Thus, it bears investigating how well these facilities comply with U.

Use of animals by NATO countries in military medical training exercises: an international survey.

Among the 28 member nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a variety of training methodologies--including simulators, moulage scenarios, didactics and live animal laboratories-are used to prepare military medical personnel to treat injured civilians and soldiers. For ethical, educational, practical, and economic reasons, the necessity of animal use for this purpose has come into question. This article reports the results of a survey examining the prevalence of animal use in military medical training exercises among all NATO nations, finding that more than three-quarters of these countries do not use animals.

Analysis of Animal Research Ethics Committee Membership at American Institutions.

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUCs) were created to review, approve and oversee animal experiments and to balance the interests of researchers, animals, institutions and the general public. This study analyzed the overall membership of IACUCs at leading U.S.

Rocking together: dynamics of intentional and unintentional interpersonal coordination.

The current study investigated the interpersonal coordination that occurred between two people when sitting side-by-side in rocking chairs. In two experiments participant pairs rocked in chairs that had the same or different natural periods. By instructing pairs to coordinate their movements inphase or antiphase, Experiment 1 investigated whether the stable patterns of intentional interpersonal coordination were consistent with the dynamics of within person interlimb coordination.