How Animals Have Helped Improve Public Health

NIH’s support of research with animals has been critical for advancing prevention, early detection, and treatment of countless diseases. Animal research has been crucial in the early stages of development of nearly every safe and effective drug in our medicine cabinet. It also led to the development of penicillin, insulin, blood transfusions, a vaccine for polio, and modern-day treatments of breast cancer, blood pressure medications, sickle cell anemia, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and epilepsy. Other examples include the development of Human Papillomavirus and anthrax vaccines, life-saving treatments for HIV, understanding schizophrenia and other mental illnesses, as well as methods and approaches for organ transplantation. Basic science research that includes research with animals is designed to improve our understanding of health and disease, but may also provide important information to help develop future prevention and treatment strategies.

Additional examples of how NIH-supported research using animals has contributed to important biomedical advances are below, including how these advances have improved our knowledge, health, and society.

• Scientists have revealed how stimulating electrical signals in our brains can treat lost nerve function. These discoveries, which involved research with animals, eventually led to strategies that relieve the effects of Parkinson’s disease and hearing loss.
• Successful vaccine development has addressed a wide array of conditions. For instance, the vaccines to fight the COVID-19 virus were first studied in mice and non-human primates. These animal species were also critical to creating a vaccine that has nearly eliminated bacterial meningitis in children, an infection that previously contributed to serious, long-term disability and death.
• Basic science, sometimes called “fundamental” science, helps researchers understand living systems and life processes. Animals are invaluable throughout basic science to obtain this fundamental knowledge, which leads to better ways to predict, prevent, diagnose, and treat disease. For instance, did you know that the hair on gecko toes inspired the design of medical adhesives for use on delicate skin? Learn more about basic science here.
• Scientists examine potential physical and mental health benefits pets provide people. Interacting with animals has been shown to decrease levels of cortisol (a stress-related hormone) and lower blood pressure. Other studies have found that animals can reduce loneliness, increase feelings of social support, and boost your mood.
• NIH funds clinical trials studying cancers that naturally occur in pets. This comparative oncology research of spontaneous cancers are relevant models for human cancers and informs the understanding and treatment of human disease.
• NIH has a state-of-the-art facility studying the size, genetics, and embryology of zebrafish. These animals are an ideal model for studying early development of human anatomy, such as how blood vessels form. You can learn more about the facility on the NIH Video Tour here.
• Looking at data from more than 100 different reptiles and amphibians (such as turtles, salamanders, and crocodiles), researchers supported by NIH have revealed some insights into aging that may help better understand longevity in humans.