In force or. Animal testing is a controversial practice some scientists believe theres an alternative. First of all lets get an overview of animal testing in germany in twenty sixteen nearly two million mines over ninety five thousand rabbits and almost seventeen thousand pigs were used in lab tests not to mention other animals. Worldwide up to three hundred million animals end up in the barra trees each year but is this really necessary and how far can the tests apply to humans. This Microscope Slide contains human brain cell. Research is led by martha life is trying to determine which substances can harm the brain. When the scientists are pesticide they can see in detail how the network of nerve cells disintegrates seen here speeded up. On experiments would not provide results like there. And theres another factor at the same mentioning all these are human neurons were not interested in the toxicity in rats then would be developing rat poison what were aiming for a predictions for humans and in my opinion thats only possible using human cells. Team at the university of constance wants to make animal experiments redundant. Thomas hartung is a professor here in constance and also at the renowned Johns Hopkins university in baltimore in the u. S. He works for Johns Hopkins center for alternatives to animal testing and for the European Center for the validation of alternative methods in italy. And he said i always felt uncomfortable performing experiments on mice and rats while at college and shortly afterwards but i did perform them in the hope of developing new medication here at the university of constance constance. More and more i realized that these experiments were problematic and not as good as i thought. And over the past twenty five years weve seen a growing range of new technologies that produce at least as good results in this is going on as with. Thomas hart on marsa life have known each other since the University Days into being in the one nine hundred eighty s. Back then animal testing was Standard Practice in Toxicology Research but over time the two researchers grew skeptical. Of the turning point for me was when i was later working in the pharmacy. Industry developing medications often. We noticed time and time again how the results we were seeing in animals never have the same effect in subsequent clinical trials. Thomas heart on his show you students the fruits of his work in baltimore software that evaluates a huge database of animal tests. It shows that experiments on one species already meaningful for other species. Now the data doesnt look as convincing. An initial observation of a severe i irritated in a rabbit can only be reproduced in a repeated test in seventy percent of cases. In twenty percent of cases you get a mild eye reaction and then the other ten percent theres no effect at all. And the results are even more inaccurate when applied to humans. For whom we try to establish whether a substance is carcinogenic via than out of ten carcinogenic substances available before only one will genuinely cause cancer in humans so those results are unsettling because a range of substances that would be important in combating illnesses never reach patients because theyve already been eliminated in animal tests that have no relevance for us it began as one of. The alternative is to work with human cells in b. Truck in test tubes. The cells here form tiny versions of organs such as miniature brains. In vitro methods are especially useful for answering specific questions such as which substances damage which cells in the brain. And maybe some time until are more testing is abundant however. Worldwide an estimated forty. Carson robert c. Year i used the Lab Experiments despite an alternative method developed by thomas hardy. In rabbit pirate in tests medicines vaccines or blood products are injected into the animals ears and their body temperature is measured. This reveals whether the samples are contaminated with pirates substances the cause fever. Method replaces the rabbits with human blood. Or discoloration of the liquid indicate contamination in the sample. The test took fifteen years of development until it was authorised and even now it is barely being used. We have to remember the different conditions in different geographical and political regions. Imagine a globally operating company that might be able to use alternative methods in europe for instance. But in say brazil or china or new zealand for the same products it might have to submit animal test results. That company will therefore rely solely on animal testing despite the availability of alternative solutions but martha lifes refuses to let up put him off since two thousand six hundred in the inaugural chair of in vitro toxicology and medicine in constance the first of its kind in germany and he seemed positive developments in that time. Ten years ago the method wasnt generally available. To a few university labs. But now alternative methods can be bought for those tests. Or not as companies see others using them theyll be more likely to do so themselves. Over the past few decades almost eighty percent of animal testing has been replaced in Industrial Research team in constants. The proud of their own contribution to that development. Drug field escapism is nothing new since the beginning of time people have sought out substances to change the way they feel. Whether it makes you laidback. Or at says a stimulant being under the influence changes behavior alcohol is no exception. It might be hard to imagine a party with that in many parts of the world alcohol is synonymous with socializing. But why is that its well known that alcohol activates the brains reward system and helps people shed their inhibitions but drinking socially also has other effects. Whether you loosen up and talk about things you wouldnt normally without alcohol. But if youre relaxed you see everything in a better life if one realistically. To find out how alcohol influence a social behavior scientists monitored situation of the subjects socalled real smile like the one on the left you can tell if a smile is real by looking at the eyes on the left the eyes are smiling to not so on the price. When people drink alcohol theyre more likely to produce real smiles. But being part of a group also means comprehending other peoples feelings. In another test scientists or of participants alcohol and showed them faces expressing different emotions such as disgust anger and happiness. They find that alcohol helps people to identify happy faces faster so when were under the influence we dont just smile more were also more sensitive to the smiles of others this promotes feelings of inclusion so more smiles all around but what about attractiveness does alcohol make others seem better looking at your course or the seem better looking when you drink. Definitely when you drink alcohol everything looks a bit better. As a member have experience i know i dont think women seem more attractive when i drink alcohol. You know that it was i dont need to my husbands here. And here to scientists are on the case in one study participants were asked which faces they find attractive some of them were symmetrical like this one on the left others were less symmetrical like the one on the right normally people prefer symmetrical faces but when individuals had consumed alcohol they found the asymmetrical faces attractive to. The to have a really good night you need to find yourself attractive too. Can alcohol help here two. Researchers asked people who drank alcohol to devise and present an advertisement afterwards they were asked to evaluate themselves in general people rated themselves favorably. In the Placebo Group subjects got a soft drink which nevertheless smelt of alcohol meaning they thought they were Drinking Alcohol here too they rated themselves favorably. On the roof so simply believing youre Drinking Alcohol can make you feel more attractive in a Group Alcohol appears to confer certain benefits even if youre only and much inning is consumed as. In some cultures alcohol doesnt feature at all and now this its seen as. An essential part of socializing do you need alcohol to have a good time and what makes a great policy we. Thought some facebook shrikant lama says i dont think you need alcohol for a party my favorite drink is fresh orange juice. Made the point that in kenya somalia and ethiopia many people prefer to Drinking Alcohol. And rios decree admitted for me personally alcohol is an integral part of a good policy. There are a lot of myths about alcohol for example some say should not just and in fact its the opposite the stuff can make it harder to break down food. What about the claim that a beer the morning after can help cure a hangover not a chance. Some swear by a glass of red wine before bed im sure it can help you not off but you wont get a good nights sleep from it. But can a glass of wine a day keep the doctor away. Grape harvest in bordeaux the french have cultivated the art of living but have also cracked the secret to a longer life. On average people in france live longer than in neighboring germany. Perhaps its to do with the french love of wine its often said that a glass a day is a healthy way to live especially in conjunction with a meal. Of course germany has its wine connoisseurs to swear by a nice glass of wine with. But is it really healthy. Statistically the french have a smaller risk of dying of Heart Disease than germans do. Could this have anything to do with wine consumption at forty liters per capita they drink twice as much as the germans. Or the blood vessels and can lower cholesterol levels some studies suggest that both these factors protect against a heart attack but other Research Refutes that. Even if there are cardiac benefits they could come at a high price after all the more alcohol a person drinks the higher the risk of contracting cancer of the liver breast. But the wind doesnt only contain it also holds other chemicals like resveratrol it comes from the skin of red grapes and can reduce inflammation. Even said to prevent. Cancer of cells proliferating. Sounds like a miracle drug right. Back. Little rest. That youd have to drink ten to twelve day to reach an effective dosage. Is the idea of a healthy prevail. Perhaps because its constantly being retold. The german wine academy. Groups website includes the following statement. Moderate consumption of alcoholic drinks in combination with a Healthy Lifestyle can lower mortality risk and a person who drinks in moderation has a lower risk than people who are abstinent or who drink a lot. Have in fact come to the conclusion that people who regularly drink a glass of wine live longer than those who abstain from alcohol in twenty sixteen scientists took another look at that conclusion it emerged that some of those living lives of abstinence where. Their excessive drinking earlier in life had resulted in illnesses which muddied the results. The subjects were filtered out of the data the scientists found that people who regularly consumed moderate amounts of alcohol did not live longer than those who have. A membership includes wine producers and retailers people whose livelihoods depend on selling lots of wine and keeping the story of healthy drinking alive. People a glass of wine is just one of the joys of life but the notion its good for their health is probably just a fairy tale. Even if it is a nice one. The idea that elephants fond of a tipple this is probably a myth to about who knows. What we do know is that elephants have a sophisticated way of communicating with each other they share information using socalled infrasound pitches that are below the range of human hearing. Alexandra entry from new zealand got in touch with a question about the acoustic abilities of another creature. How does the dog see hearing differ from that of humans. A dog is known as mans best friend. And a well trained dog listens to its owner. And people in their dogs are often surprisingly similar. Even in terms of their aural skills. In the lower frequency part of the acoustic spectrum below two hundred fifty hertz humans and canines have pretty similar hearing however humans can only detect sounds of up to twenty thousand hertz. Dogs on the other hand can hear up to fifty thousand hertz giving them a far greater range of sounds. The dog moves its ears around to locate the source of the sound. That goes for both upright years someone said hang down low. But a dogs ears also tell something about its emotional state thats where upright ears are advantages they give clear signals then hanging years. Of. Dogs are strongly sensitive to sound no surprise they hear much more than we do including noise. And it might surprise you but theres actually another popular pet with even better hearing than dogs whether their feline companions are as willing to listen to their human owners is another matter. The problem is red white are great but only a few. Do you have a science question that youve always wanted answered it were happy to help out send it to us as a video text ovoid mail if we answer it on the show well send you a little surprise as a thank you come on just ask. To find us a d w dot com slash science or drop us a line a d. W. I. Under school site on facebook d w dot science. Antibiotics are essential in the battle against harmful bacteria. Thus they dont always work. One reason is that germs can multiply super fast and develop immunity to the antibiotic in question. Thats led to the development of socalled multidrug resistant bacteria and these harmful germs have now been discovered in water to. The sun and this lake in northern germany is a popular spot for walks boating trips and swimming. But the picturesque scene disguises an unpleasant fact these waters are home to multidrug resistant bacteria. Researchers have identified so called multidrug resistant gram negative bacteria or m d r g n here these kinds of germs are able to break down active ingredients in common antibiotics and make them ineffective. Often they can infect the lungs or bladder. And can even lead to blood poisoning. N. T. I. G. M. Bacteria tend to spread most in places where antibiotics are abundant examples include clinics and factory farms the discovery of multidrug resistant bacteria in water has not come as a surprise to hygiene experts like professor your highness. What did come as a shock was the kind of antibiotics the germs were resistant to. The. Strains of resistance are very rare among patients in germany despite that theyre a source of worry to us and were taking a very close look at how such resistance spreads there certainly be a great need for research in this area in the next few years. The professor heads up the institute for hospital hygiene at the University Medical center in hamburg in two thousand and seventeen he embarked on a Research Project the aim is to find out how effective Sewage Treatment plants are at protecting against. Some Treatment Plants appear not to be fully effective at guarding against multidrug resistant germs. The risk of the bacteria entering the water supply is especially big in areas close to hospitals and factory farms. Another risk factor is heavy rainfall thats because strong showers can sometimes cause manure and untreated sewage to flow directly into rivers and lakes. Wildlife like aquatic birds can also be responsible for introducing multi resistant bacteria to water and thankfully most intestinal pathogens dont survive long in water but its more complicated than the resistance can spread. Right now we dont know if the resistance actually disappears. Are able to transfer resistance among each other it could be that the original resistance can return to bacteria which can make people sick. With. This kind of transfer of resistance can lead to illnesses that no antibiotic is able to treat the greater the number of resistant germs in the water the more likely this is to happen. For the time being their concentration in inland waters is very low still could be dangerous bacteria and up in our Drinking Water. In germany a third of multi resistant germs origination rivers lakes and down. Providers have now intensified filtration and begun disinfecting water with ozone and u. V. Radiation in order to prevent the germs spreading through the water works. Its very unlikely in Drinking Water surface water removed from the drinking supply is subject to very strenuous checks so we would not expect it to contain multi resistant pathogens. That said routine checks are not yet required to include specific tests for multi resistant germs. That also applies to lakes where people go swimming those regulations are now being be examined though although multi resistant bacteria dont necessarily make you sick. For one the bodys skin flora is home to a host of different bacteria that keep new arrivals in check. Even if swallowed only a tiny proportion of the pathogens will survive contact with the gastric bypass that in the stomach. Up to five percent of people in germany have multidrug resistant bacteria in their bodies without actually falling sick a healthy immune system keeps them under control its only once they enter the bloodstream that they become a problem for a cart for example for surgery. So whats the expert advice on swimming in lakes. I would advise against bathing in a public lake with an open wound but thats regardless of multi resistant pathogens it is. Basically the chance of a healthy individual getting an infection from a multi resistant pathogen was swimming in a lake is as high as getting rich from gold dust. So we have. This bigger risk if antibiotic resistant fragile for that reason its best to exclude them from the environment as much as possible. Is that if you talk from their various options such as improving the sewage system but our relationship to antibiotics is more important they need to be administered less both to humans and animals with fewer out there theyll be less filtering needed to get food. Resistant strains can develop when antibiotics are prescribed unnecessarily or taken incorrectly if nothing changes one day all antibiotics could be rendered ineffective. Kids are incredibly quick learn is constantly observing the people around them but how good are they adopting different perspectives find out in next weeks show until then by dying and taking. The vitamin c. And wellness. Chilling out on the beach Police Release strolling along a