ARE YOU A MAN OR A MOUSE?

The question's not that simple: Turns out even taking into account the differences between the two species, much of our mouse-based research may be wildly skewed due to the fact that the mice being studied are out of their freakin' minds from their hellish captivity. (via Vegan Porn) "Much of the research that relies on animals could be using brain-damaged subjects," says Discover Magazine, "jeopardizing the validity of the data it produces. This could mean that disease modeling, pharmaceutical research, and tests of chemical toxicity are tainted." It would also explain major errors like saccharin, thalidomide and the hundreds of chemicals whose effect on humans is out of sync with animal tests. Good thing India's premier drug research institute now says it can reduce animal testing by 80 percent through use of new computer programs. 80 percent, man. If they can, why not us?