With the persisting need of animal experimentation for fundamental and applied research, the relevance and importance of the 3Rs Principle cannot be ignored. The 3Rs Principle was put forward over 50 years ago, providing an essential framework for more humane animal experimentation in research. In this half-century the research landscape within which this principle is applied has dramatically changed and evolved, with ever more emerging venues to explore for 3Rs advancement and implementation.
• Replacement methods (Replace) to avoid animal experiments or replace them with alternative methods. This is for example computer modeling or in vitro techniques, in particular cultures of organs or cell systems from human or animal origins.
• Reduction methods (Reduce) limiting the use of animals as much as possible and allowing researchers to use the same number of animals, or even fewer, while obtaining as much or more information, for example through the development of medical imaging processes. They can also now repeatedly observe processes in the same animal without having to euthanize an animal at each measurement point.
• Improvement (Refine), including scientific methods and keeping animals in a way that genuinely reduces actual or potential pain, fear, stress or harm, and improving the protection of animals in situations that cannot be avoided. Careful and respectful handling of laboratory animals has been clearly shown to enhance the informative value of the experiments carried out.
The increased acceptance of the 3R Principle has led to innovative research in a broad variety of research fields. However, as the Principle is applied across practically all research fields, it is a challenge to create a global overview of the recent advancements in 3Rs research. This may have multiple implications, for instance, a global overview on alternative methods and the gap in knowledge could clarify future 3R research needs. Furthermore, intrinsic to the 3Rs principle, is the ethical perspective to research involving animals and alongside the involvement of both researchers and society’s views and opinions on animal research, that further broadens the scope of examining the status quo of 3Rs research beyond the life sciences.
This Frontiers research topic is a pan-European initiative supported by all EU 3R centers that aims to provide an inter- and multi-disciplinary review of cutting-edge research in 3Rs in order to better promote and disseminate the value of the 3R Principle and its importance in producing reliable research beyond the 3Rs. To broadly portray the current advances and challenges, as well as the future opportunities, requires the coordinated effort of multiple scientific disciplines including biomedical, veterinary, biostatistical, biotechnology, computer sciences, as well as perspectives from educational, social, political and ethical research in the 3Rs field.
The aim of the topic is to address key questions on the 3Rs advancement and implementation, including (but not restricted to):
• Review of the state of the art: future challenges and opportunities
• Translational validation of replacement approaches for human disease models (e.g. using 3D, organoid systems, invertebrates)
• Reduction in cancer and neuroscience
• Refinement of animal welfare (laboratory animal science)
• Computational modeling (machine learning and artificial intelligence)
• Societal views on animal experimentation
• Efficacy of alternative measures in education
• Ethics in animal research: regulation and legislation
Research Topic Image acknowledgement - Immunostaining of patient cell cultures on a second-generation lung-on-chip © Pauline Zamprogno, ARTORG Center for Biological Engineering Research, University of Bern
With the persisting need of animal experimentation for fundamental and applied research, the relevance and importance of the 3Rs Principle cannot be ignored. The 3Rs Principle was put forward over 50 years ago, providing an essential framework for more humane animal experimentation in research. In this half-century the research landscape within which this principle is applied has dramatically changed and evolved, with ever more emerging venues to explore for 3Rs advancement and implementation.
• Replacement methods (Replace) to avoid animal experiments or replace them with alternative methods. This is for example computer modeling or in vitro techniques, in particular cultures of organs or cell systems from human or animal origins.
• Reduction methods (Reduce) limiting the use of animals as much as possible and allowing researchers to use the same number of animals, or even fewer, while obtaining as much or more information, for example through the development of medical imaging processes. They can also now repeatedly observe processes in the same animal without having to euthanize an animal at each measurement point.
• Improvement (Refine), including scientific methods and keeping animals in a way that genuinely reduces actual or potential pain, fear, stress or harm, and improving the protection of animals in situations that cannot be avoided. Careful and respectful handling of laboratory animals has been clearly shown to enhance the informative value of the experiments carried out.
The increased acceptance of the 3R Principle has led to innovative research in a broad variety of research fields. However, as the Principle is applied across practically all research fields, it is a challenge to create a global overview of the recent advancements in 3Rs research. This may have multiple implications, for instance, a global overview on alternative methods and the gap in knowledge could clarify future 3R research needs. Furthermore, intrinsic to the 3Rs principle, is the ethical perspective to research involving animals and alongside the involvement of both researchers and society’s views and opinions on animal research, that further broadens the scope of examining the status quo of 3Rs research beyond the life sciences.
This Frontiers research topic is a pan-European initiative supported by all EU 3R centers that aims to provide an inter- and multi-disciplinary review of cutting-edge research in 3Rs in order to better promote and disseminate the value of the 3R Principle and its importance in producing reliable research beyond the 3Rs. To broadly portray the current advances and challenges, as well as the future opportunities, requires the coordinated effort of multiple scientific disciplines including biomedical, veterinary, biostatistical, biotechnology, computer sciences, as well as perspectives from educational, social, political and ethical research in the 3Rs field.
The aim of the topic is to address key questions on the 3Rs advancement and implementation, including (but not restricted to):
• Review of the state of the art: future challenges and opportunities
• Translational validation of replacement approaches for human disease models (e.g. using 3D, organoid systems, invertebrates)
• Reduction in cancer and neuroscience
• Refinement of animal welfare (laboratory animal science)
• Computational modeling (machine learning and artificial intelligence)
• Societal views on animal experimentation
• Efficacy of alternative measures in education
• Ethics in animal research: regulation and legislation
Research Topic Image acknowledgement - Immunostaining of patient cell cultures on a second-generation lung-on-chip © Pauline Zamprogno, ARTORG Center for Biological Engineering Research, University of Bern