Animal testing on invertebrates
Overview article / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Animal testing on invertebrates?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Most animal testing involves invertebrates, especially Drosophila melanogaster, a fruit fly, and Caenorhabditis elegans, a nematode. These animals offer scientists many advantages over vertebrates, including their short life cycle, simple anatomy and the ease with which large numbers of individuals may be studied. Invertebrates are often cost-effective,[1] as thousands of flies or nematodes can be housed in a single room.
With the exception of some cephalopods in the European Union, invertebrate species are not protected under most animal research legislation, and therefore the total number of invertebrates used remains unknown.[2]