Uploaded January 2018 | Updated September 2026, 7 minutes ago
Biomedical research on lab animals is an increasingly contentious topic — and a tricky subject for the science journalists who cover it. The public is sharply divided over the ethics and merits of the research. Animal rights and welfare organizations are ramping up pressure to seek alternatives to animal testing. And unlike other hot-button research topics such as evolution and climate change, scientists themselves hold a diversity of opinions on the topic.
As a result, journalists covering research that involves animals face unique challenges. This October 27, 2017 session at the 10th World Conference of Science Journalists in San Francisco explored these and other tough questions with insight from journalists who regularly cover the beat as well as perspectives from scientists on the other side of this coverage.
Biomedical research on lab animals is an increasingly contentious topic — and a tricky subject for the science journalists who cover it. The public is sharply divided over the ethics and merits of the research. Animal rights and welfare organizations are ramping up pressure to seek alternatives to animal testing. And unlike other hot-button research topics such as evolution and climate change, scientists themselves hold a diversity of opinions on the topic.
As a result, journalists covering research that involves animals face unique challenges. This October 27, 2017 session at the 10th World Conference of Science Journalists in San Francisco explored these and other tough questions with insight from journalists who regularly cover the beat as well as perspectives from scientists on the other side of this coverage.
