Video library

Opossum B roll

Caring for chickens in the laboratory

Openness Awards 2022

2022 Paget Lecture: The Heart of the Matter

How animal research has helped us understand and treat cardiovascular disease

What can wild zebrafish tell us about keeping zebrafish in the lab?

Behind the scenes at The Francis Crick Institute: working with different species in biomedical research

Top three animals used in scientific research

2021 Paget Lecture: Tortoises, hares & other animals on the pathway to antidepression

What happens to medical nanoparticles in the body

Robot cleaning cages

Using zebrafish to study haemorraghic stroke

African Striped Mice and circadian rhythms

Researching Alzheimer's disease with mice

Five ways to care for zebrafish

Five reasons why zebrafish are used in research

How animals are used in research

Caring for laboratory mice

Women in Science 2020

What do people know about cosmetics testing?

Interview with Nobel Prize winner Xavier Montagutelli

Daily inspection of laboratory mice

Cryogenic safety

Tour around 8000 mice

Robot adding fresh lab animal bedding

Is your MRI scan accurate?

Brain research with monkeys

Bluetongue virus of ruminants

Making vaccines against African Swine Fever virus

Making vaccines against foot-and-mouth disease

Finding vaccines against swine influenza virus

Stopping dangerous diseases from getting out

High level hygiene and containment in a large animal facility

Testing vaccines against African Swine Fever virus on pigs

Testing foot-and-mouth disease vaccines

Testing FMD vaccine on cows

Foot and Mouth Disease vaccine trial

Filmed at The Pirbright Institute

Asthma drug testing on dogs

Dogs are trained to inhale Asthma drugs

Asthma drug testing on rats

Rats inhale aerosols containing drugs under test

Interview with Nobel winner Françoise Barré Sinoussi

In French with sub-titles

Mouse in a forced swim test

Mice swim and then float in warm water - a test for anti-depression drugs

Drug discovery with venom

Spiders, scorpions 'milked' for their venom used in research

Victoria Derbyshire Radio 5 live from Mary Lyon Centre

Live from an MRC animal research centre near Oxford

Why use naked mole-rats in cancer research?

Cloning Dolly the Sheep

How to care for naked mole-rats

Naked mole-rat B-roll

Researching Alzheimer's using cells and mice

New antidepressants and mice

The forced swim test is used to screen for potential antidepressants.

Caring for laboratory mice

Chew-sticks, bedding, places to hide

How do vaccines work?

Educational animation introducing the immune system and how it is triggered.

Wendy Jarrett: Changing attitudes towards animal research

Podcast interview with UAR CEO Wendy Jarrett.

B-roll: Xenopus laevis frogs

What is a virus?

What are viruses, what do they do to you and is there anything that can be done about them?

History of pregnancy testing

Mice, rabbits, frogs and sheep – each took their turn in the development of pregnancy tests.

Caring for Spiders and Scorpions

Spiders and scorpions are 'milked' for venom which is used in medical research.

2019 Paget Lecture: Nancy Rothwell on stroke

Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell presented the 83rd Paget Lecture, with her talk ‘a stroke of bad luck’.

Newcastle University research improves animal conditions

Handling mice with a tube rather than by their tail improves mice well being.

2018 Openness Awards

2018 Openness Awards Presentation

2018 Paget Lecture: Professor John O’Keefe on spatial cognition and memory

What rodents have taught us about spatial cognition and memory

Marmosets in Parkinson’s research

How and why common marmosets are used in research into the causes and treatments of Parkinson's disease.

How do you stop dangerous diseases escaping from the facility?

Testing vaccines requires the use of live virus - it must not get out of the facility.

Rearing midges to study blue tongue virus

Foot-and-mouth disease vaccine trial on cows

Dr Bryan Charleston of The Pirbright Institute describes a trial using cows in the search for vaccines against foot-and-mouth disease.

Spinal repair in dogs

Olfactory cells can be used to repair the spinal cord.

Injecting RNA into a mouse embryo

Mice are genetically modified at MRC Harwell

Filling an autoclave

Animal housing is sterilised in an autoclave before being used or re-used

How the brain makes decisions - in the pre-frontal cortex

Making dry forage mix to feed research monkeys

In nature monkeys spend large amounts of time foraging for food. These monkeys are given their food in various ways to occupy them and enrich their lives.

Fresh food preparation for research monkeys

Research animals diet must keep them healthy and interested in their food.

Measuring 'anticipation' in the brain

Macaques have a brain-scan while watching a computer to show where 'expectation' occurs in their brain.

How we see in 3D

What happens in amblyopia or 'lazy eye'?

Training research monkeys

Macaques are trained to interact with humans so that they can take part in research experiments.

Enriching lab monkeys day through food

Taking blood from a model rat

Taking blood from a model rat is one way for animal technologists to train before taking blood from a live animal.

Using pigs in medical research

Lionel, an animal technologist, describes caring for pigs.

Pig recovers from surgery

The pig spends a period in intensive care under the supervision of a vet.

Pig being prepared for surgery

A pig is fitted with artificial blood vessels to test how they work.

Delivering drugs to the brain

How do you get past the blood-brain barrier?

Testing artificial blood-vessels in pigs

Might artificial blood-vessels be better for bypass surgery?

Robot assisted surgery

Dr Sanja Dogramadzi describes research into improving robot-assisted surgery on humans.

Blood sampling in mice and rats

Training video from Imperial College showing how to take a drop of blood from a mouse or rat.

Notching mice ears

Imperial college training video: How to cut notches in mice ears, used as a method of identification.

Why do we use macaques in research?

The MRC funds research in universities using macaques because many of their body systems — such as their immune and nervous systems — are similar to humans, making them good research 'models.'

Where does the MRC breed research macaques?

The Medical Research Council's Centre for Macaques breeds rhesus macaques for medical research in academic institutions in the UK.

Mice into clean cages

Mice are moved into a clean cage every week or so in MRC Harwell

Cryogenic storage

Sperm, eggs and other tissue can be stored indefinitely in liquid nitrogen.

Robots cleaning mice cages

50,000 mice all need their cages cleaned, a job for a robot

In an air shower

You have to be clean to work with laboratory animals

2017 Paget lecture: How animals have helped with the discovery of drugs for asthma

Professor Clive Page 2017 Paget lecture: How animals have contributed to our understanding and treatment of respiratory diseases

Ultradian rhythms in voles

Voles are used in ultradian research because they are active and sleep every few hours.

2016 Paget Lecture: Animal Research: Then and Now

Paget lecture 2016 given by Professor Sir Mark Walport, Chief Scientific Adviser, HMG.

Animal Research Openness Awards Ceremony 2016

Third Animal Research Openness Awards Ceremony, London 5 December, 2016

Ferrets and Flu

Ferrets catch flu so they are used in research to make flu vaccines

Bd: The Amphibian Plague

The fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis has wiped out frogs and salamanders across the globe. What can be done?

2015 Paget Lecture: Brain stories

Professor Sir Colin Blakemore gave four stories about the brain

Dispelling myths around animal research

An animation designed for politics.co.uk, to give an overview of animal research in the UK

Rats close up

Close up view of laboratory rats

Pacemakers: then, now and next?

A brief history of heart pacemakers with some predictions for the future.

60 years of the polio vaccine

We've edited down a film made in 1961 about the first mass vaccination campaign against polio in the UK.

Mouse cage enrichment

Plugs, pipes, rungs and rings fill these cages.

2014 Paget Lecture: The Science of Healthy Ageing

Dame Professor Linda Partridge on the Science of Healthy Ageing

Openness Awards 2014

Understanding Animal Research launched the Openness Awards in 2014

Ferrets in medical research

The video shows ferrets playing whilst their enclosure is being cleaned.

Macaques in medical research

These macaques were filmed in their living quarters in a UK research facility in early 2005.

Rabbits in medical research

The rabbit enclosures in these videos are similar to those found in most animal houses.

Marmosets in medical research

Monkeys used in research are housed in family groups and can groom each other, climb, forage for food and play.

Dogs in medical research

This video shows typical housing conditions for dogs.

Opossums in medical research

Opossums are very keen on baby custard as you can see from the video clip.

Frogs (Xenopus) in medical research

Frogs are especially useful in animal research because of the large number of eggs they can produce.

Guinea pigs in medical research

The video shows typical guinea-pig housing. Guinea pigs are social animals and therefore should never be housed alone unless there are exceptional circumstances.

UAR interviews Chloe Rackham about her diabetes

We interviewed Chloe just before World Diabetes Day 2010.

How much animal research is done in the UK?

This video outlines how much animal research is done in the UK and gives information about the animals used.

Where do medicines come from?

This short film supports our leaflet of the same name and was produced to be seen in GP surgeries where the sound is usually turned down - hence the sub-titles.

Parkinson's disease

Mike Robbins suffers from Parkinson’s Disease. He explains how a ‘pacemaker’ implanted into his brain – a surgical technique called deep brain stimulation (DBS) – can help to control his symptoms.

What has animal research done for the brain?

This video from our archives was produced in 2004 by the Coalition for Medical Progress.

Why do we use animals in research?

Dr Simon Festing, previously a UAR Chief Executive, answers questions about why animals are an essential part of medical work.

Using mice as a model for Alzheimer's disease

Mice can be used to study Alzheimer's disease.

Growing human testis tissue in mice to study human reproductive disorders

Low-sperm count can be due to damage before birth.

David Reynolds, EFPIA, discusses 2010 European Directive on Animal Scientific Procedures

99 percent mouse 1 percent human

Dr Robin Lovell-Badge from the MRC explains why putting human cells into an animal can be a good thing and the circumstances when it would be unacceptable.

Judy McArthur Clark on the EU Animals Scientific Procedures Act

Presentation by Judy McArthur Clark, Home Office UK, discussing the implementation of the 2010 European Directive on Animal Scientific Procedures 63/2010/EU.

Visitors to an animal research facility

UAR worked with Genetic Alliance UK to arrange a visit to a university animal facility for some of their members.

Understanding Asthma

In this short film we hear about the experience of having asthma from Tim Wilson and about how animal research has contributed to treating asthma from Professor Clive Page.

Animal research and diabetes

Research on dogs led to the discovery of insulin and the death sentence that until then was associated with diabetes was lifted.

Why do naked molerats live so long?

Naked molerats can live for more than thirty years in captivity, far more than than other rodents. What is more they don't appear to get cancer.

Stem cells and heart repair

Professor Michael Schneider of Imperial College tells Alan Keys about how stem cell research is leading to treatments for heart disease.

Patient, David Taylor, meets scientist, Fran Balkwill

Cancer survivor David Taylor interviews Professor Frances Balkwill about her research and the role animals play in her work.

Dogs in medical research into heart function

Research into new heart medicines is being helped by these dogs.

From Fireflies to Superbugs

Genetic modification, taking genes from one animal has become an essential tool for modern medical research.

Marmosets and research into Parkinson's Disease

Geoff Butcher has Parkinson's disease. He interviews a scientist who uses Marmosets as an animal model to investigate this disease.

Foot and Mouth Vaccine Production

Presentation about experimental Foot and Mouth vaccine production.

Zebra fish in medical research

Zebra fish increasingly replace mammals in medical research.

Mice in medical research

No sound in this video that shows typical laboratory mouse housing.

Foot and mouth life-cycle

This animation shows how foot-and-mouth virus enters its host and replicates.

Blood from a rats tail

This clip shows a blood sample being taken from a rats tail.

Macaque presents leg for blood sampling

Macaques can be trained to assist in procedures. Here an adult macaque presents her leg for a blood sample.

Animation explaining animal research

This film was produced in cooperation with the British Pharmacological Society for the Politics.co.uk website.

Toxoplasmosis in otters

Toxoplasmosis infects people, cats, otters and many other animals.

Monitoring pollution in otters

Otters are at the top of their food web and concentrate (bio-accumulate) man-made toxic and/or non-biodegradable chemicals in their bodies.

Sheep

Sheep in a research facility, video suitable for media cutaway purposes, no sound.

Dosing a dog

Dog being given a pill.

Injecting a dog

Dog being injected by a vet.

A day in the life of an animal technologist

We walk around King's College animal research facility with one of the animal technologists who in this episode shows us mice, rats, rabbits and guinea pigs.

Organ transplants and animal research

Consultant surgeon Geoff Koffman explains that while the prognosis for kidney transplant has improved rejection is still a problem.

A kidney transplant patient's story

Organ transplants can fail when they are rejected by their new body. Animal research finds anti-rejection treatments.

Herceptin - the first monoclonal antibody treatment for cancer

This presentation outlines the research and development that led to Herceptin, the first effective monoclonal antibody treatment for breast cancer.

Ten medical breakthroughs thanks to animal testing

A century of medical advances in a minute of video.

Breeding Zebrafish

This film shows some of the aspects of zebrafish production and maintenance.

Declines in insectivorous birds are associated with high neonicotinoid concentrations

Populations of common insectivorous birds like starlings and barnswallows are declining in farmland areas with high levels of the neonicotinoid insecticide imidacloprid.

Drug testing: research with dogs

Dogs are used in small numbers in medical research in the UK, usually as a second mammal in safety testing.