Animal research at Cambridge

Animal research plays an essential role in our understanding of health and disease and in the development of modern medicine and surgical techniques. As part of our commitment to openness, this film examines how mice are helping the fight against cancer. It takes a in-depth look at the facilities in which they are housed, exploring issues of animal welfare and the search for replacements. We welcome comments about this article. However, as with discussions on all of our news and feature pages, comments will be moderated so please do not post contributions that are offensive or contain profanities and do stay on topic. We do not moderate comments in real-time so do bear with us if there is a delay before they appear. Since this film was published, there has been considerable evidence-based research for improved welfare and scientific outcomes to non-tail handling mice.

Science writer David Adam has obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). In the third of a series of films, he visits the University of Cambridge to find out what is going on inside his brain and to hear about the latest treatments.

Science writer David Adam has obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). In the second of a series of films, he meets researchers at the University of Cambridge to find out what animals – rats and marmosets – can teach us about the condition and how this can help in the development of new treatments.

Science writer David Adam has obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). In the first of a series of films, he meets Professor Trevor Robbins, Head of Psychology at the University of Cambridge, to find out what we know about OCD and how scientists study the condition.

Content warning: this film contains images of blood and surgery For people with organ failure, transplantation is the only option. A lack of suitable organs for transplantation means patients die every day. Researchers in the University’s Department of Surgery are using large animal models to understand why donated organs become damaged and unsuitable for transplantation, and to test promising new treatments. Experiments with large animals, which accurately represent the human body, are vital in developing these treatments. The research uses as few animals as possible, and aims to maximise the number of organs suitable for transplantation. For more information on animal research at the University of Cambridge, please visit: The 3Rs Principle explained: