In early 2016, Nature published a letter from a group of Chinese researchers reporting that they had created rhesus macaques with “autism-like” behaviors. The macaque was bred with a mutation in the MeCP2 gene. Overexpression of MeCP2 is found in MeCP2 duplication syndrome, a disorder that shares...

Scientists acknowledge biological, behavioral, and psychological similarities between human and nonhuman primates; hence their use as proxies in biomedical research. At the same time, primates are denied many ethical considerations and basic protections afforded to humans participating in research. T...

“If you look through the red-tinted glass, you will see the radioactive pig,” said the director of animal laboratories at my university–let’s call her Susan–near the start of my tour of the facility. There on a concrete floor, within a steel cage, was a large solitary sow, lying on her side...

Decades of experiments have shown that rats are smart individuals that feel pain and pleasure, care about one another, can read others’ emotions, and will help unfamiliar rats even at a cost to themselves. It’s time to apply what we’ve learned from these animals and stop conductin...

The institution of animal experimentation is a house of cards, and a stiff wind is blowing at last.

Two announcements today have changed the conversation about the use of chimpanzees in research.