Killing Rats Yields to AI as Science Seeks to Avoid Animal Tests

Testing new pesticides sometimes involves having rats inhale them for 90 days, killing them, and then analyzing how much cell death or injury they find in the rodents’ noses and windpipes.

Syngenta Crop Protection LLC is trying a new approach as it compiles data on its fungicide chlorothalonil to submit to the EPA. It combines data on particle sizes, computer modeling of respiratory functions, and testing on donated human nose cells to predict how irritating the chemical would be to the airway.

It’s a test case for scientists advising the EPA, who at a Dec. 4-7 meeting will ...