Cell-based tests promise respite for lab animals: study

Any step in reducing animal suffering and possibly avoiding it is a welcome development.

“a promising alternative to traditional animal toxicology studies.”

I hope the alternative proves successful and more attention will be paid to finding ways to “significantly reduce the amount of animal tests required”, and even better eventually eliminating animal testing of any sort.

The stakes are high. Just recently, a phase-1 drug trial in France, the first time it's tested on humans, resulted in fatalities:

http://www.nature.com/news/scientists-in-the-dark-after-french-clinical-trial-proves-fatal-1.19189

It can be hard to predict what could happen once a drug is inside a complex system that is a human.