In-depth article: Animal-free science next level
Ever dissected your own lab rat as a science student? Or removed a beating heart from a frog, while the rest of the classroom was doing exactly the same? It isn’t a very distant memory for most scholars. But it seems like a lifetime ago for today’s life sciences students. Utrecht University students can now virtually explore every layer of the anatomy of a rat using holograms, they can practice blood sampling from the brain with a plastic pig, and a robot horse simulates internal examinations in a sophisticated manner. These novelties offer new ways to learn about life, without the use of test animals. And not just for students. Smart innovations like organs-on-a-chip and virtual humans take our science to the next level, while reducing or replacing animal testing.
In Utrecht we work on animal-free innovations. This offers a world of new possibilities, that we pass on to the next generation. If you are interested in reading more about these innovations, click on this button: