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Published online 14 December 2006 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news061211-15
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Animal studies: a good guide for clinical trials?
Study reveals animal experiments often fail to predict outcomes in humans.
Just how useful are animal experiments in predicting the outcome of human trials of new medicines?
Animal-rights activists have long claimed that differences between humans and animals make experiments in species such as rats of little use. Most scientists disagree, saying that drug development would be impossible without initial tests in animals (see our Animal research special
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