<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><xml><records><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>10</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Mieke Van Mulders</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Birgit Mertens</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Nancy Liodo Missigba</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Vera Rogiers</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Flanders and Brussels join forces to tackle animal testing</style></title></titles><keywords><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">3Rs</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">alternative methods to animal testing</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">new approach methodologies</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">RE-Place</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2022</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">16/01/2022</style></date></pub-dates></dates><urls><web-urls><url><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">https://www.brusselstimes.com/belgium-all-news/201812/flanders-and-brussels-combine-forces-to-tackle-animal-testing</style></url></web-urls></urls><publisher><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">The Brussels Time</style></publisher><pub-location><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">https://www.brusselstimes.com/belgium-all-news/201812/flanders-and-brussels-combine-forces-to-tackle-animal-testing</style></pub-location><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">&lt;p&gt;The Flemish and Brussels regional governments are working together in search of alternatives to animal testing to reduce reliance on such experiments.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;As part of this collaboration, the regions will launch a new, optimised version of the RE-Place platform for scientists, which&amp;nbsp;gathers all existing knowledge on alternative methods to animal testing and paints a realistic picture of what is possible today with&amp;nbsp;such methods.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The platform was created as part of a previous collaboration between Brussels Minister for Animal Welfare Bernard Cleryfayt and his Flemish counterpart Ben Weyts several years ago to ensure that, in the long term, the&amp;nbsp;project could “contribute&amp;nbsp;to a structural reduction in the number of&lt;br&gt;
animal experiments.”&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It does so by promoting the use of non-animal testing methods&amp;nbsp;by putting the emphasis on&amp;nbsp;sharing knowledge, and by bringing together experts from&amp;nbsp;institutions and&amp;nbsp;research fields with each other.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;A new and improved version of the&amp;nbsp;RE-Place platform which was recently launched makes it even easier to collect the available expertise in Brussels and&amp;nbsp;Flanders.&amp;nbsp;As part of this launch, both regions are calling on scientists to share their expertise on the platform.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;“I want to prevent the suffering of laboratory animals as much as possible. This can be done by&amp;nbsp;development, stimulation and support of alternative methods,” Weyts said.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Human materials and computer models&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;In Belgium, about half a million test animals are used for scientific purposes every year, most often&amp;nbsp;in biomedical research into new therapies for diseases such as cancer.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;In addition, the use of laboratory animals is sometimes required by law, for example for the safety of medicines and vaccines. Such practices are&amp;nbsp;strictly controlled by ethics committees and the regional authorities for animal welfare.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;“Some animal tests remain a necessary evil. The focus in our&amp;nbsp;policy lies on a thorough application of the ‘3Rs policy’: reduction, refinement, replacement,” Weyts stated.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;As part of the project, the coordinators of the RE-Place project, Sciensano and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, developed an&amp;nbsp;online tool that has already collected 170 methods from various research fields and&amp;nbsp;research fields and institutions.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This includes using human material in&amp;nbsp;cell and tissue cultures (in vitro), or computer models (in silico). “These new,&amp;nbsp;innovative techniques play a very&amp;nbsp;important role in answering questions&amp;nbsp;that follow from a regulatory framework or&amp;nbsp;biomedical research,” a press release stated.&lt;/p&gt;
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