Some test animals do get a happy ending after all.
Better still, a US research team wants to ensure animal testing can be bypassed in sustainable and cost-effective ways with the help of marine red seaweed, known as Pacific dulse.
Following cleaning and drying of the seaweed the US team used an anionic surfactant to remove all its cells, leaving only a network structure, or extracellular matrix.
This structure was then used as a scaffold for human heart cells to grow on. The resulting cell material could be used for conducting preclinical tests – with not an animal in sight.
Scientists are bypassing animal testing in Edinburgh too, while a 3D-printed hydrogel could even spare humans from lab procedures.
