Searching
for Alternatives
Faculty
using animals are required by law to conduct a literature search
for alternatives to painful procedures. This law applies to those
animal projects categorized as Type
D or E (WSU's classification). The following sites are quick.
You may want to use the word "alternative" in this search for alternatives
to painful procedures.
The
UC-Davis site (also listed below) has additional instructions
on searching for alternatives .
If
you want to know more about what painful procedures mean, then check
out what the USDA
says about it. Make a note of the date searched,
the years searched, and the key words used. Be sure to include that
information in your Animal Use Approval Form. :-)
For
a comprehensive review and index of items involved with searching
for alternatives, visit the U.
California - Davis Center for Animal Alternatives .
Here
are the search engines:
Web
Gateway to AGRICOLA
( AGRICultural OnLine Access ): a
machine-readable database of bibliographic records created by the
National Agricultural Library and its cooperators. Production
of these records in electronic form began in 1970, but the database
covers materials dating from the 16th century to the present.
This database provides access to publications and other agricultural
resources that include: plant and animal science, entomology, agricultural
products, food and nutrition, agricultural trades, rural information,
animal welfare, and several other categories. Book information
and journal articles may be searched either via the web or if you're
so equipped, a telnet interface. This database used to be difficult
and costly to access. However, it's really great for veterinarians
and researchers since many veterinary and animal-related journals
not available through Medline searches can be accessed here.
Healthgate
MEDLINE database. Contains MEDLINE, AIDSLINE, CancerLit,
BIOETHICSLINE.
Internet Grateful Med
database. (U.S. National Library of Medicine)
NORINA
database for audiovisual alternatives for animals in
teaching programs.
PUBMED
National Library of Medicine MEDLINE database.
TOXNET
Web Interface: This experimental search
system is part of a major redevelopment effort by the Specialized
Information Services Division of the National Library of Medicine.
It is free of charge.
The
Transgenic/Targeted Mutation
Database (TBASE) : Since development of the technology
to manipulate the germline of animals over a decade ago, a large
number of transgenic animals have been produced worldwide for use
in both basic and applied research. Additionally, development of
gene targeting protocols involving homologous recombination in mouse
embryonic stem cells has resulted in a considerable number of mutant
lines with specific phenotypes and well-defined DNA structural changes.
TBASE is an attempt to organize information on transgenic animals
and targeted mutations generated and analyzed worldwide. TBASE
is maintained by the Jackson Laboratory.
Several
other sites and centers that are dedicated for finding alternatives
have been established over the past years:
Animal
Welfare Information Center (AWIC)
A
Report on Validation and Regulatory Acceptance of Toxicological
Test Methods: NIH Publication No. 97-3981, available
from the Center for Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods,
NIEHS, P.O. Box 12233, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709-12233.
Information
Resources for Adjuvants and Antibody Production :
Comparisons and Alternative Technologies, Resource Series No. 3,
March 1997, available from the Animal Welfare Information Center
(AWIC), NAL, USDA, 10301 Baltimore Boulevard, Beltsville, MD 20705.
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