Technology has advanced over the past years, it's time for scientist to move on to better alternatives that doesn't involve harming animals. It is stated in the article, Alternatives to Animal Testing by PETA, that "Some of the world's most forward-thinking scientist have moved on to develop and use methods for studying diseases and testing products that replace animals and is relevant to human health". Some of the alternatives include sophisticated tests using human cells and tissue (in vitro methods), advanced computer modeling techniques (in silico models), and studies with human volunteers.
The in-vitro method is an "organs-on-chips" that contains human cells grown in a state-of-the-art system to mimic the structure and function of human organs and organ system, according to the article by PETA. This method can be used in disease research, drug testing, and toxicity testing. It has also been shown to replicate human physiology, diseases, and drug response a lot more accurately than animal experiments do. It also stated in the article, "A variety of cell-based tests and tissue models can be used to assess the safety of drugs, chemical, cosmetics and consumer products". The in-vitro method helps replace the use of guinea pigs or mice who would have been injected with a harmful substance or have it applied to their shaved skin to determine an allergic response for the experiment.
The computer (in silico) modeling was developed by researchers who discovered a wide range of sophisticated computer models that simulate human biology and the progression of developing diseases. These studies show that these models can accurately predict the outcome of how the new drug will react in the human body. Quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs) estimates a substance's likelihood of being hazardous based on the similarity to existing substances and our knowledge of human biology (PETA, Alternatives to Animal Testing).
Another alternative is researching with human volunteers. This method is called microdosing, it can provide vital information on the safety of an experimental drug and how it is metabolized in humans prior to larger scale human trials, explained in the article. The people who are volunteering are given an extremely small one time drug dose, and sophisticated imaging techniques are used to monitor how the drug behaves in the body's system. In the article it states, "Having advanced brain imaging and recording techniques--such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)--with humans volunteers can be used to replace archaic experiments in which rats, cats, and monkeys have their brains damaged". This modern technique allows the brain to be safely studied by researchers to see down to the level of a single neuron, and researchers can even temporarily and reversibly induce brain disorders using transcranial magnetic stimulation (PETA, Alternatives to Animal Testing).