Monday, September 8, 2008

Failures of animal research

Newsweek's Sharon Begley is one of the few mainstream journalists I've read who ever addresses the limitations of animal experiments. In her new article on the failures of cancer research, she includes a bit on the drawbacks of using animal "models." She also talks a bit about the reasons we focus on cures rather than prevention. (Drug companies can't make any money on broccoli sprouts.) I wish she had written more about the cancer-preventing benefits of meatless diets (and exercise), but the article is excellent and worth a read.