For Animals In Tests (NAPSA)—At the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, scientists are trying to develop a way to use cloned human genes in chemical testing—insteadof the millionsof rats and mice now used. @ Currently, specially raised rodents are used to test environmental and industrial chemicals, food additives and cosmetics. They are the best predictors now available, scientists say. They have helped Americanslive longer and healthier, and protected children from chemical burns. But the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences is working to reduce the need for animals in such tests. One ingenious method that promises to do so uses clusters of cloned human genes. NIEHS, through its new National Center for Toxicogenomics, is determining how clusters of these cloned (artificially reproduced) genes may respond to various known poisons. When the NIEHScenter has a “library” of which genes are turned on or off by knownpoisons, it will begin looking at other chemicals to see if they produce similar patterns of genetic response. If so, the chemical will then be evaluated as a prime suspect for producing the same disease. For more information on NIEHS, try http://www.nichs. nih.gov.
