Rats and mice have been the backbone of biomedical research for decades—including research to understand cancer and pioneer new treatments.

New drug compounds are tested for safety and effectiveness in animal models before being approved for clinical trials in humans.

But scientists at research institutions like Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center’s Sloan Kettering Institute are working to develop nonmammalian alternatives that could reduce the number of rodents used in biomedical research —a positive result in its own right, and one that could also lower costs and accelerate results.