As we indicated on our last blog, we believe 2008 will be the year when a more sophisticated debate about animal research emerges. This will be possible if the government and police can continue to crack down on animal rights extremists, who have made it difficult for researchers to engage properly with the public.

Researchers themselves will have to take on the responsibility of that extra time commitment to explain their work. We believe many are willing to do so if their safety can be assured. A survey for Nature magazine just over a year ago confirmed this.

To kick off this debate, it will be important to recognize both the benefits and the limitations of animal research. One journalist who appears to have ‘got it’ better than many is James Randerson of The Guardian. In his comment today in The Guardian online, he points out that ’no scientist would claim that an animal is a perfect model for humans, but they offer a way to understand human disease that no alternative can match’. Quite so.