Artificial rat tissue will allow drug testing and research to be done without harming animals.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires new drugs be tested on animals — a situation that has serious ethical and moral implications.

New research in the field of tissue engineering by Amit Gefen of Tel Aviv University holds a promise that far fewer lab animals will be needed for the necessary experimental trials.

Dr. Gefen's research into fat cells, published in a recent issue of Tissue Engineering , has led him to conclude that the necessary tissue can be produced from fat, skin, bone and muscle cells.

Gefen is now using adult rat stem cells to create skin, bone, fat and muscle tissue from an animal in a laboratory setting for his research.