The history of scientific achievement is a testimony to the unique ability of human beings to understand and transform the world of which we are a part. If science is taught well - whether physics, chemistry, or biology - then many examples of the importance of human endeavour will shine through, to inspire the next generation.

Given that no species other than humanity has this transformative potential and proud history of scientific endeavour, it is depressing that so few people understand and are willing to defend the importance of animal experimentation. The way in which our society has become so ambivalent about - if not ashamed of - the use of animal experiments to further human knowledge and wellbeing, speaks to a broader and worrying ambivalence about the significance of knowledge and experimentation in general. If knowledge and experimentation are fundamentally important, then so too are animal experiments.

Tony Gilland is editor of books including Science: Can We Trust the Experts? (buy this book from Amazon (UK) or Amazon (USA)), and Animal Experimentation: Good or Bad? (buy this book from Amazon (UK) or Amazon (USA)).