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Our network

We are not alone in our efforts to promote communication and education on animal experiments and on the 3Rs in research. The Alliance of Science Organisations in Germany, for example, leads the project “Tierversuche verstehen” (Understanding Animal Research), which also aims to promote a more objective discussion about the reasons behind, benefits of, and alternatives to animal research. Aimed at the general public and the media, the initiative connects news organizations and other interested groups with experts, facilitates dialogue and discussion, and provides a wide array of informative material via its website. The Max Delbrück Center contributes to this work as an institution of the Helmholtz Association, which is a member of the Alliance of Science Organisations in Germany.

The Max Delbrück Center is also a member of the European Animal Research Association (EARA), which is committed to better informing the public about animal research. Other member organizations in Germany include the Max Planck Society.

In Berlin we also have many partners who share our goals:

Related news & events

Michael Gotthardt

Michael Gotthardt studied medicine so that he would not have to choose a single natural science. He went into research because he felt he could make more of a difference there.

© Pablo Castagnola, MDC
Science

Why do we need to experiment on animals?

In a detector.fm podcast, Michael Gotthardt, Head of the Translational Cardiology and Functional Genomics lab, explains why he must use animals in his research. “We can’t observe the development of an illness in cells because it isn’t a cell that is sick, but the whole person,” he says.
zebrafish

The zebrafish is used as model organism in the laboratory of Jan-Philipp Junker.

© Pablo Castagnola/MDC
Science

Lab animal report for 2023

Research teams at the Max Delbrück Center and its partner institutions used almost 17,000 fewer research animals in 2023 than in the previous year. The Center has now submitted these figures to the Berlin State Office for Health and Social Affairs (LaGeSo).
Human Neurons

Induced human sensory neurons with the ion channel Elkin1 (cyan), nucleus (yellow) and Neurofilament 200 (magenta), that stains for large neurons that are involved in light touch.

© Amy Hulme, University of Wollongong
Press Release No. 9

A new channel for touch

Touch is a fundamental, yet scarcely understood, sense. Now, the team led by Gary Lewin at the Max Delbrück Center has discovered a second ion channel associated with touch perception. Elkin1 could be a target for pain therapy, the team writes in “Science”.
Blick durch einen Hörsaal
© Felix Petermann, Max Delbrück Center
Science

EARA workshop: Communication on animal research

At a workshop organized by EARA, researchers, animal welfare officers, and communicators gained insights into how they can communicate more openly and proactively about animal research. The event, with over 80 participants, was held in collaboration with the Max Delbrück Center.