Sunbathing mice? This kind of silly research is harmful

Serious work is undermined by frivolous projects

Last week a study from America claimed that mice become addicted to sunlight. My first thought, like many other readers, was: “What’s the scientific merit of that?”

Quite apart from the harm ultraviolet light does to mice, the experiment seemed to fall into the same dubious category as exposing animals to cigarette smoke or using them to test cosmetics.

I have spent many years doing research on mice and believe that nearly all animal research is considered and responsible. Cigarette and cosmetic studies on animals have been banned here for decades and experiments with questionable justifications are rare. But even when the work is done abroad, a study with dubious ethics can seriously undermine valid arguments for using animals in vital research in this country.