AI to reduce animal testing ⏲️ 6 Minute English

Hello, this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.

I'm Phil and I'm Georgie.

Animal testing is when living animals are used in scientific research

to find out how effective a new medicine is,

or how safe a product is for humans.

Scientists in favour of it argue that animal testing shows

whether medicines are safe or dangerous for humans, and has saved many lives.

But animal rights campaigners say it's cruel, and also ineffective

because animals and humans are so different.

Under British law,

medicines must be tested on two different types of animals,

usually starting with rats, mice or guinea pigs.

And in everyday English, the term 'human guinea pig' can be used to mean

the first people to have something tested on them.

But now, groups both for and against animal testing are thinking again,

thanks to a recent development in the debate: AI.

In this program, we'll be hearing

how artificial intelligence could help reduce the need

for scientific testing on animals.

But first, I have a question for you, Georgie.

There's one commonly used medicine in particular,

which is harmful for animals but safe for humans,

but what? Is it, a) antibiotics b) aspirin or c) paracetamol?

Hmm, I guess it's aspirin.

OK, Georgie, I'll reveal the answer at the end of the programme.

Christine Ro is a science journalist

who's interested in the animal testing debate.

Here, she explains to BBC World Service programme 'Tech Life' some

of the limitations of testing medicines on animals.

Of course, you can't necessarily predict from a mouse or a dog

what's going to happen in a human,

and there have been a number of cases where substances that have proven

to be toxic in animals have been proven to be safe in humans,

and vice versa.

There are also, of course, animal welfare limitations to animal testing.

Most people, I think, if they had the choice, would want

their substances to be used on as few animals, or no animals, as possible,

while still ensuring safety.

Now that's been a really difficult needle to thread,

but AI might help to make that more possible.

Christine says that medicines which are safe for animals might not be safe

for humans.

But the opposite is also true –

what's safe for humans might not be safe for animals.

Christine uses the phrase 'vice versa' to show that the opposite

of what she says is also true.

Christine also uses the idiom 'to thread the needle' to describe a task,

which requires a lot of skill and precision,

especially one involving a conflict.

Yes, medical animal testing may save human lives,

but many people see it as cruel and distressing for the animal –

it's a difficult needle to thread.

But now, the challenge of threading that needle has got a little easier

because of artificial intelligence. Predicting

how likely a new medicine is to harm humans,

involves analysing the results of thousands of experiments.

And one thing AI is really good at, is analysing mountains

and mountains of data.

Here's Christine Ro again, speaking with BBC World Service's 'Tech Life'.

So, AI isn't the whole picture, of course,

but it's an increasingly important part of the picture.

And one reason for that, is that there is a huge amount of toxicology data

to wade through when it comes to determining chemical safety.

And on top of that, there's this staggering number of chemicals

being invented all of the time.

AI helps scientists wade through huge amounts of data.

If you wade through something, you spend a lot of time and effort

doing something boring or difficult, especially reading a lot of information.

AI can process huge amounts of data,

and what's more,

that amount keeps growing as new chemicals are invented.

Christine uses the phrase 'on top of that' meaning in addition to something,

often this extra thing is negative.

She means there's already so much data to understand,

and additionally, there's even more to be understood about these new chemicals.

Of course, the good news is that

with AI, testing on animals could one day stop,

although Christine warns that AI is not the whole picture,

it's not a complete description of something which includes

all the relevant information.

Nevertheless, the news is a step forward for both animal welfare

and for modern medicine.

Speaking of which, what was the answer to your question

Phil? What is a commonly used medicine which is safe for humans

but harmful to animals?

I guessed it was aspirin.

Which was the correct answer.

Right, let's recap the vocabulary we've discussed, starting

with 'human guinea pigs',

meaning the first people to have something new tested on them.

The phrase 'vice versa' is used to indicate

that the opposite of what you have just said is also true.

'To thread the needle' describes a task which requires extreme skill

and precision to do successfully.

'The whole picture' means a complete description of something, which includes

all the relevant information and opinions about it.

If you wade through something, you spend a lot of time and effort

doing something boring or difficult, especially reading a lot of information.

And finally,

the phrase 'on top of something' means 'in addition to something',

and that extra thing is often negative.

That's all for this week.

Goodbye for now. Bye.