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Innovations
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Tracking Toxicants
Carol Potera Abstract
After years of discord, there may finally be a means of testing products that pleases both animal rights activists and scientists.
Xenometrix Incorporated has developed a line of stress gene assays that are based on the principle that cells respond in certain well-defined ways when exposed to toxic substances. Cells have "stress genes" that, when triggered by certain conditions, fight toxicants by either neutralizing them or repairing the cellular damage they have caused. There are basic stress genes that vary little from lower to higher species so, for example, scientists can use stress genes from bacteria to extrapolate data for humans. The assays are targeted at a variety of specific users' needs, such as the CAT-Tox(Skin) assay that is currently being evaluated by Mary Kay Cosmetics for testing their skin-care products.
Other companies, who have already found ways to replace animal experimentation, can still benefit from the stress gene assays because they provide information that has never before been available. The stress gene assays are far more sensitive than other assays and are better predictors of future biological changes. For some applications, they also provide a quicker response than standard assays. The stress gene assays do not provide information on the intact whole animal and, though they return less ambiguous results than most assays, they can still be difficult to interpret. The hefty price tag is also a deterrent to some users. However, to proponents of the assays, the benefits far outweigh the limitations.
The assays are only two years old and, to date, no company has actually abandoned animal experimentation in favor of the new assays. Nevertheless, industry insiders predict that the stress gene assays will eventually replace animal experimentation altogether and become "the toxicity characterization method of the future."
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