Moisés Mallo, a principal investigator at EARA member the Gulbenkian Institute of Science (IGC), Portugal, features in the latest episode of the EARA #TransparencyThursday series, where he explains the importance of using mice for researching the development of the body.
His lab is interested in how the body develops before birth (embryonic development), and is investigating questions such as why the legs form where they do, and the interaction between the formation of the legs and the genitals – a crucial aspect in order for vertebrate animals, including mice and humans, to thrive in different ecosystems.
Moisés explained the importance of basic research such as this, which does not have an immediate clinical application, as it is ‘..the basics of all new knowledge that can eventually be applied to solve problems of humanity. This is the main power of fundamental knowledge, because you can find something by chance that you didn’t even know existed’.
He also shared his tips on how best to communicate the need for animal research with the public: ‘One of the best ways to do it is to give examples of things that really impacted the person you are talking to,” he said.
You can find the entire series of #TransparencyThursday episodes on the EARA YouTube channel.