Why promising animal study results often fail in human trials: the gap between mice and medicine

Summary

This article explains the gap between promising animal studies and actual human treatments in biomedicine. It uses the historical example of Judah Folkman's cancer research — which showed dramatic results in mice but failed in human trials — to illustrate why animal study results must be interpreted cautiously. The piece covers why mice are the most common lab animals, the lengthy process from animal testing to human treatments, the limitations of disease models, and how media and scientists should communicate findings without raising false hopes.