VISION RESEARCH that required the study of neurological pathways in cats and monkeys brought the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to David H. Hubel, MD, in 1981. His own vision of a biomedical research future possibly deprived of the use of similar models—because of the efforts of socalled animal rights activists—has compelled Hubel to mount a campaign aimed at educating the American public about the need for animals in the laboratory.
He is one of many scientists who have come to realize that their message regarding the importance of continuing animal research is unheard by most people, and that they must speak louder. Consequently, last spring Hubel sent a letter signed by almost every one of the American Nobel laureates in biology and biology-related fields to a scientist with a great big voice:
The Letter
April 10, 1989Surgeon General C. Everett KoopUS Public Health ServiceDepartment of