EGGS Bird and reptile eggs and embryos are used to study normal fetal development and the effects of drugs on the fetus. Eggs are also used to culture viruses and vaccines. This method has proven effective in instances where tests on animals have yielded conflicting or useless results, when if animals tests were employed to determine results, great harm to humans may have resulted. This consists of saturation analysis techniques using radioactive elements. Radioactive substances similar to those present in the body are used to analyze a wide range of materials.
Radioimmunoassays greatly reduce the number of animals needed.
One animal can provide antibodies for hundreds of radioimmunoassays. This science utilizes quantum mechanics, an understanding of molecular structure, and computerization, to seek an explanation of the behaviour of drugs on the basis of molecular properties. Complex models are now in the final development stages, or already available, for use in anaesthesiologist training and can provide reactions to many different drugs. A simulator has been created which includes a heart circulatory system, lungs, and a respiratory system, along with a means of testing responses to drugs and kidney functions, thereby obviating the perceived need for the use of animals in such situations. This permits far more accurate observation and use of environmental factors related to human disease than is possible with unnaturally-confined animals.