‘Good welfare is good science,’ the saying goes. But how do researchers, veterinarians, and animal care staff refine the lives of their laboratory animals?

Enchytraeids (Annelida) are soil invertebrates with worldwide distribution that have served as ecotoxicology models for over 20 years. We present the first high-quality reference genome of Enchytraeus crypticus, assembled from a combination of Pacific Bioscience single-molecule real-time and Illumina sequencing platforms as a 525.2 Mbp genome (910 gapless scaffolds and 18,452 genes). We highlight isopenicillin

There is a growing interest in being able to better describe a Culture of Care, particularly as institutions are being asked to nurture such a culture and engage proactively on the care and welfare of the animals used for research purposes. Based on responses collected using an anonymized virtual interactive online poll, we provide some suggestions to help promote further awareness of how animal welfare

Rodent grooming is an important behaviour that is commonly used to characterize preclinical models of human brain disorders. A new paper has leveraged deep learning to develop a precise, high throughput and automated grooming classifier to facilitate mechanistic neuroscience research on grooming.

To improve rigor and reproducibility of animal research, the recently released NIH Advisory Committee report recommends major improvements in investigator statistical training and practice. The IACUC can serve as important gatekeepers of research quality by ensuring that simple statistically based reproducibility criteria are addressed in animal use protocols.

Animal welfare concerns, reduced flight options and increased costs are pushing researchers to consider shipping frozen sperm and embryos rather than live mice.

Yava Jones-Hall discusses the promise and pain points of setting up a digital pathology program at a new academic institution.

Well-quantified laboratory studies can provide a fundamental understanding of animal behavior in ecology, ethology and ecotoxicology research. These types of studies require observation and tracking of each animal in well-controlled and defined arenas, often for long timescales. Thus, these experiments produce long time series and a vast amount of data that require the use of software applications

The column will soon continue on with two new coordinators at the helm.

After a genetic revolution in the 80s, mice overtook rats as the laboratory animal of choice for many researchers. But in recent years, the gene editing capabilities that had lagged a little for the larger rodent have been coming up to par with their murine cousins. Is a return to rats on the way?

The SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 pandemic has significantly increased the demand for specific-pathogen-free (SPF) nonhuman primates (NHPs) for development of vaccines and therapeutics, thus straining the supply of these animals for biomedical research studies. Non-SPF animals, which are available in greater numbers and include well-characterized primate species, should be considered in lieu of limited SPF animals

Mouse strains differ markedly in all behaviors, independently of their genetic background. We undertook this study to disentangle the diurnal activity and feature key aspects of three non-genetically altered mouse strains widely used in research, C57BL/6NCrl (inbred), BALB/cAnNCrl (inbred) and CRL:CD1(ICR) (outbred). With this aim, we conducted a longitudinal analysis of the spontaneous locomotor activity

Voluntary wheel running is a valuable metabolic intervention and well-established measure of physical activity in preclinical rodent models. Herein, we describe detailed assembly instructions and provide necessary resources for researchers to build their own running wheels from commercial-off-the-shelf parts and an open-source program at approximately a tenth of the cost of commercially-available options

Despite considerable advances in both in silico and in vitro approaches, in vivo studies that involve animal model systems remain necessary in many research disciplines. Neuroscience is one such area, with studies often requiring access to a complete nervous system capable of dynamically selecting between and then executing a full range of cognitive and behavioral outputs in response to a given stimulus

Tissue clearing methods let researchers see inside their animal models. However, there are a lot of options out there. Which to choose can depend on your question.

Animal models play a critical role in establishing causal relationships between gut microbiota and disease. The laboratory mouse is widely used to study the role of microbes in various disorders; however, differences between mouse vendors, genetic lineages and husbandry protocols have been shown to contribute to variation in phenotypes and to non-reproducibility of experimental results. We sought to

Nonhuman primate (NHP) models, the most predictive preclinical models for human diseases and treatment outcomes, are in high demand and limited supply. There is a need for improved cryopreservation methods and routine storage of gametes and embryos, which are vital to protecting unique genetic models as well as providing resources for enhancing the genetic diversity of NHP colonies.

Animals are regular inhabitants of the International Space Station, but the knowledge they reveal doesn’t just end with their missions. Open science efforts are democratizing space science and helping researchers around the world understand what animal models of spaceflight can reveal about spending time among the stars.

A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41684-021-00775-2.

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has significantly increased the demand for nonhuman primates (NHPs), the preclinical model most predictive of disease and treatment outcomes in humans, and for biocontainment laboratory spaces adjacent to facilities housing NHPs. Accompanying this requirement for biocontainment and research laboratory space is the need for skilled personnel to work in these facilities.