Ten New Science Books: Lab Animals, Vaccines, Cancer Care, and more…

We’ve been a little quiet lately here at Notes From NAP, due largely to some technical tinkering we’ve needed to do as the summer quietly moves in, so our apologies. We’re back with a bang, though: Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals was released last week, and is our featured publication of the week. See more publications in the topic of Lab Animal Research.

Featured Publication

Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (prepublication)

A respected resource for decades, the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals has been updated by a committee of experts, taking into consideration input from the scientific and laboratory animal communities and the public at large. The Guide incorporates new scientific information on common laboratory animals, including aquatic species, and includes extensive references. It is organized around major components of animal use:

Key concepts of animal care and use. The Guide sets the framework for the humane care and use of laboratory animals.

Animal care and use program. The Guide discusses the concept of a broad Program of Animal Care and Use, including roles and responsibilities of the Institutional Official, Attending Veterinarian and the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.

Animal environment, husbandry, and management. A chapter on this topic is now divided into sections on terrestrial and aquatic animals and provides recommendations for housing and environment, husbandry, behavioral and population management, and more.

Veterinary care. The Guide discusses veterinary care and the responsibilities of the Attending Veterinarian. It includes recommendations on animal procurement and transportation, preventive medicine (including animal biosecurity), and clinical care and management. The Guide addresses distress and pain recognition and relief, and issues surrounding euthanasia.

Physical plant. The Guide identifies design issues, providing construction guidelines for functional areas; considerations such as drainage, vibration and noise control, and environmental monitoring; and specialized facilities for animal housing and research needs.

The Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals provides a framework for the judgments required in the management of animal facilities. This updated and expanded resource of proven value will be important to scientists and researchers, veterinarians, animal care personnel, facilities managers, institutional administrators, policy makers involved in research issues, and animal welfare advocates.

All New Publications This Week

Considerations for Ensuring Safety and Efficacy of Vaccines and Therapeutic Proteins Manufactured by Using Platform Approaches: Summary of a Workshop (forthcoming)

A Foundation for Evidence-Drive Practice: A Rapid Learning System for Cancer Care: Workshop Summary (prepublication)

Assessment of Technologies for Improving Light Duty Vehicle Fuel Economy (prepublication)

A Summary of the December 2009 Forum on the Future of Nursing: Care in the Community (final)

Residential Energy Consumption Letter Report (final)

Hidden Costs of Energy: Unpriced Consequences of Energy Production and Use (final)

Achieving Effective Acquisition of Information Technology in the Department of Defense (final)

The Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise: Innovative Strategies to Enhance Products from Discovery Through Approval: Workshop Summary (final)

Regionalizing Emergency Care: Workshop Summary (final)