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EARA Newsletter

June 9th 2025

EARA News Digest 2025 - Week 24


Welcome to your Monday morning update, from EARA, on the latest news in biomedical science, policy and openness on animal research. 

This week: EARA Leads on Openness and Transparency at FELASA 2025; Females may be more sensitive to alcohol – rat study; AAALAC Celebrates 60 Years of Promoting Animal Welfare Globally.

EARA leads on openness and transparency at FELASA 2025   

EARA has just taken part in the 16th Federation of European Laboratory Animal Science Associations (FELASA) Congress, held in Athens, Greece from 2 to 5 June 2025, making significant contributions to the scientific programme, addressing openness, transparency and public engagement in animal research. 

The whole EARA team was present throughout the event at Booth 22 in the Association Village, where they met with conference participants, EARA members and new stakeholders and distributed resources, including tools on public communication, namely EARA’s new leaflet and a special invitation to participate in the EARA Conference, later in November 2025.  

EARA staff – Kirk Leech, Nuno Miguel Gonçalves, Monique Havermans, Inês Serrenho and Helena Pinheiro – chaired or presented in seven different sessions, including three chaired sessions and workshops, six oral communications and two posters. Know more

 

 

Females may be more sensitive to alcohol – rat study  

Researchers from the USA found that changes in the brains of female rats exposed to alcohol appear earlier than in males, potentially guiding personalised treatments for women. 

The researchers at Scripps Research, California, studied the noradrenergic system - a brain network that controls the body’s fight-or-flight response and helps regulate stress, attention and emotional processing. 

Marisa Roberto, leader of the study at Scripps Research, said: “We previously studied the noradrenergic system only in male rats and saw that it was dysregulated following chronic alcohol exposure. This time, we wanted to study whether the same changes occur in females.” 

The researchers found that the changes in the female brain appeared much earlier than in males, and that communication between brain cells was affected when exposed to a low amount of alcohol, when in males this occurred only after alcohol dependence. When using two different drugs that act on the noradrenergic system and are already approved for other medical conditions, they found that one lowered drinking in both non-dependent and dependent female rats, while the other only worked after dependence had set in.  

Next, the researchers plan to explore if these stress-related drugs could also mitigate other symptoms associated with alcohol dependency. 

The study was published in Biological Psychiatry. 

 

 

 

AAALAC celebrates 60 years of promoting animal welfare globally  

In 2025, EARA member Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) International marks its 60th anniversary, celebrating a legacy of improving animal welfare in science and education.  

With over 1,100 accredited programmes in 51 countries, AAALAC continues to expand its global reach, welcoming 33 new ones in the past year: most of them outside the United States, including in France, Hungary, Lithuania, the UK, Egypt, the UAE and countries across the Asia-Pacific. 

This year also brings new leadership and updated guidance, with AAALAC introducing several new Position Statements, including guidance on the application of the 3Rs.  

A new statement on Culture of Care emphasises the importance of compassionate, collaborative research environments that continuously strive for higher animal welfare standards. Additionally, AAALAC revised its expectations for the role of Attending Veterinarians, strengthening their responsibilities in ensuring oversight and ethical treatment.  

CEO Gary Borkowski said, “The AAALAC enterprise is truly the result of many dedicated individuals and organisations in pursuit of a better world with animal welfare featured prominently. There are numerous research fields where animals are an essential component, and AAALAC is committed to supporting the care and welfare of these animals across the entire spectrum.” 

AAALAC’s collaboration with EARA continues to grow, with EARA now a formal Member Organisation.  

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