Question 1

NC3Rs Webinar: 3Rs advice for project licence applicants

Accepted Answer

All scientific work carried out in the UK under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 must be part of a programme of work authorised by a project licence. An important part of the ethical review and licensing process is ensuring that the principles of the 3Rs are robustly applied. In order to achieve this, when applying for a project licence, applicants are asked to detail how they have considered and applied the 3Rs to their research. To learn more about the 3Rs and how they can drive better science and animal welfare, view this video presentation from the NC3Rs.

https://vimeo.com/438220000

Find more 3Rs guidance for project licence applicants at nc3rs.org.uk/PPLadvice.

Question 2

Virtual Lab Animal Tour

Accepted Answer

Understanding Animal Research have released their Lab Animal Tour, a ‘street view’ into four animal research facilities in the UK. This digital tour allows users to move around the University of Bristol, University of Oxford, Mary Lyon Centre at the MRC Harwell, and The Pirbright Institute, providing the viewer with 360 degree vision of animal rooms and surgical suites.

Along with exploring the facilities' rooms, the Lab Animal Tour also allows visitors to find out more information about the work carried out in each room and includes videos showing mice, cows, pigs and monkeys in the lab animal setting. The project aim to allow the public much greater access to see how the animals are housed, what research is carried out and how this is done.

Question 3

The 3Rs: What are Medical Scientists Doing about Animal Testing?

Accepted Answer

As part of a series called Frontiers for Young Minds, Rachel Tanner has written an educational resource for kids about animal research called The 3Rs: What are Medical Scientists Doing about Animal Testing?

Question 4

Advice from the NC3Rs on the housing and husbandry of dogs

Accepted Answer

This page on the NC3Rs website provides advice on the housing of laboratory dogs, tools for their welfare assessment, and suggestions for refinement of procedures used in safety assessment studies.

https://www.nc3rs.org.uk/housing-and-husbandry-dogs

Question 5

QM+Emulate Organs-on-Chips Centre

Accepted Answer

www.cpm.qmul.ac.uk/emulate

The QM+Emulate Organs-on-Chips Centre provides access to Emulate’s Organs-on-Chips technology to enable researchers to use Emulate’s supported organ models which include: Liver, Proximal Tubule Kidney, Lung and Intestine or develop organ models of their design to expedite their experiments. Expert staff are on hand to support with training and use of the platform. The Centre also provides opportunities for collaboration with Emulate and support for commercialisation and translational impact.

Question 6

IAT Journal - Animal Technology & Welfare (ATW)

Accepted Answer

www.atwjournal.com

ATW publishes peer-reviewed articles allied to animal science and technology, management and education. Particular encouragement is given to authors submitting papers promoting the 3Rs leading to improvements in environmental enrichment and the care and welfare of genetically altered animals. ATW publishes technical notes describing new products, new or refined techniques and new developments. ATW publishes papers and posters presented at international meetings, opinion articles, book reviews and relevant texts. ATW promotes the dissemination of ‘good practice’. ATW promotes the recognition of Animal Technologists everywhere.

Official Journal of The Institute of Animal Technology and European Federation of Animal Technologists.

Question 7

Improving animal welfare at Newcastle University by introducing the low stress handling of mice

Accepted Answer

Senior CBC Animal Care Technician Emma Hamilton has written an article on the development of 'non-aversive' handling (NAH) at Newcastle University which was recently published in the IAT Journal 'Animal Technology and Welfare'.

Improving animal welfare at Newcastle University by introducing the low stress handling of mice (PDF:4MB)

Question 8

Changing mouse handling practice at a university establishment - blog post

Accepted Answer

Lesley Gilmour is the University of Glasgow’s Named Training and Competency Officer (NTCO), responsible for ensuring that all those working with animals are appropriately trained, supervised and competent. In this NC3Rs blog post, she shares her experience of implementing refined mouse handling across the institution, including some top tips.

nc3rs.org.uk/news/changing-mouse-handling-practice-university-establishment

Question 9

International Mouse Strain Resource (IMSR)

Accepted Answer

http://www.findmice.org/

The IMSR is a searchable online database of mouse strains, stocks, and mutant ES cell lines available worldwide, including inbred, mutant, and genetically engineered strains. The goal of the IMSR is to assist the international scientific community in locating and obtaining mouse resources for research. Note that the data content found in the IMSR is as supplied by strain repository holders.

For each strain or cell line listed in the IMSR, users can obtain information about:

Where that resource is available (Repository Site)
What state(s) the resource is available as (e.g. live, cryopreserved embryo or germplasm, ES cells)
Links to descriptive information about a strain or ES cell line
Links to mutant alleles carried by a strain or ES cell line
Links for ordering a strain or ES cell line from a Repository
Links for contacting the Repository to send a query

Question 10

INFRAFRONTIER - Mouse Disease Models

Accepted Answer

https://infrafrontier.eu/

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INFRAFRONTIER is the European Research Infrastructure for the generation, phenotyping, archiving and distribution of model mammalian genomes. The INFRAFRONTIER Research Infrastructure provides access to first-class tools and data for biomedical research, and thereby contributes to improving the understanding of gene function in human health and disease using the mouse model.

The core services of INFRAFRONTIER comprise the systemic phenotyping of mouse mutants in the participating mouse clinics, and the archiving and distribution of mouse mutant lines by the European Mouse Mutant Archive (EMMA). In addition, INFRAFRONTIER provides specialised services such as the generation of germ-free mice (axenic service) and training in state of the art cryopreservation and phenotyping technologies.