Editor's note

When considering animal trials, it is wise to be cautious. What proves to be a fantastic medical intervention in a mouse or another lab animal, can in some cases be catastrophic if given to a human. Human and animal physiologies can be similar but, often in critical aspects, also very different, reports Ri Scarborough. Indeed, results in animals are replicated in humans less than half the time.

And we’re always being told to update our online passwords. But what to pick – and what to avoid? Who better to ask than five password security researchers?

Sasha Petrova

Deputy Editor, Health + Medicine

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Animals have played a pivotal role in countless life-saving discoveries. from shutterstock.com

Of mice and men: why animal trial results don’t always translate to humans

Ri Scarborough, Monash University

Virtually every medical therapy in use today owes its existence to animal experiments. But we can't assume what works in animals will in humans. And sometimes, the mismatch can be dangerous.

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    Harini Nagendra, Azim Premji University; Madhura Niphadkar, Ashoka Trust for Research Ecology and Environment

    For mapping patterns of plant invasion from the sky, understanding plant behaviour on the ground and using it along with remote sensing cameras, is crucial.

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