Science Communications Professional – Parkinson’s UK
Mentioning the role of the animal in biomedical research is vital for transparent communication and managing expectations. For example, the majority of media coverage for Alzheimer’s omits that research was conducted with mice. By the time it gets to the public, people think ‘this is great, there is a cure coming and it’s obviously being tested with humans!’. However, if you go back to the original research that it is coming from, it shows that research was conducted on six mice. People don’t realize that a lot of everyday medicines have also come through animal testing and knowing that is important when discussing and deciding on whether you are for or against such research.