FOXSYLVANIA

– – Controversial animal testing for cosmetics manufacturers could soon be replaced by a new technology which uses laboratory-grown human skin cells to simulate the body’s allergic  response to foreign chemicals.

The standard method for testing allergic reactions involves applying chemicals to the ears of mice or guinea pigs, which are later killed and dissected for study.- – Kinda a “no-win” situation for rodents…

The new method would use a glass chip with human skin cells and chemicals which simulate the body’s immune system.  When a foreign substance is dropped onto the chip, the cells and chemicals interact to mimic the human’s body’s natural allergic response.  A working prototype by Hurel Corp. funded by L’Oreal is in the works, and could be in use by next year…

This entry was posted on January 20, 2010 at 12:44 am and is filed under animal rights, animals, science. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.

Tags: animal testing, cosmetics testing