A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences calls into question the standard mouse model of sepsis, trauma, and infection. The research is an excellent example of how proper science investigates its own methods.
Mouse and other animal models are essential to biomedical research. The goal is to find a specific animal model of a human disease and then conduct preliminary research on the animal model in order to determine which research is promising enough to study in humans. There are also non-animal assays and “test tube” type research that is used to screen potential treatments, but scientists still prefer a good animal model.
It is also understood that animal models are imperfect – mice are not humans, after all. Animal research is therefore not a substitute for human research. I and other SBM authors have regularly criticized proponents of dubious treatments who make clinical claims based upon preliminary animal research. Until something is studied in humans, we cannot make any reliable claims about its safety and efficacy in people.