SEPTEMBER 27, 2007--A leading biological scientist from the University of Portsmouth (Portsmouth, UK; www.port.ac.uk) has received a grant to research the use of computer imaging technologies for identifying individual frogs used in research. The award was announced by the Secretary of State for Science and Innovation, Ian Pearson, in London as part of a package of funding worth €2.4m from the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs). Matt Guille, head of the School of Biological Sciences, working with professor Elizabeth Jones at the University of Warwick and software engineers Solcom, will pioneer a new method of identifying individual frogs using digital imaging which measures the patterns of the frogs' backs and feet.
The NC3Rs provides a focus for the promotion, development, and implementation of the 3Rs in animal research and testing. It brings together representative from academia, government, industry, and animal welfare organizations. It is funded by the Medical Research Council, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the Home Office, the Wellcome Trust, Cancer Research UK, the Association of British Pharmaceutical Industry, GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca, Syngenta, Dow Chemical Company, SC Johnson, and Unilever.
