The number of medical schools offering the option for students to learn in a live animal laboratory keeps dwindling.

As of 2006, 21 of the 125 medical schools in the country still used live labs, but since that time, eight more have stopped using live dogs, pigs, or other animals as teaching tools in physiology, pharmacology and surgery classes, according to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), a Washington, D.C.-based group that promotes nonanimal educational alternatives.

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And Saturday's Chicago Tribune:

Doctor of the nation

The president's nomination for the next surgeon general looks to be in deep trouble. The nominee, Dr. James Holsinger, wrote a graphic paper years ago on homosexuality that has riled gay and lesbian activists and others. In recent testimony before a Senate committee, Holsinger appeared to disavow the 1991 paper, saying that it has been taken out of context and "does not represent where I am today [and] who I am today." He said that if confirmed as surgeon general, he would be an advocate for the health of all Americans, regardless of sexual orientation. And then he pledged to crusade against childhood obesity.

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