ANIMAL research could be transformed by a Big Brother- type system that can monitor creatures 24 hours a day. The technology would reveal the effects on behaviour of drugs or genetic variations with unprecedented detail. It could also improve welfare, alerting staff when lab animals show signs of stress or disease.
“It allows you to look at subtle changes in behaviour that we know are occurring but cannot study because of the labour-intensive nature of long-term monitoring,” says Tony Yaksh of the University of California, San Diego, a pain researcher who hopes to use the new system.
The “Smart Vivarium”…
