Defence Science and Technology Laboratory Porton Down carries out research to ensure that the UK’s military and wider public benefit from the latest technical and scientific developments.
Forces News has been given special access inside the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) in Wiltshire to learn more about the work of scientists there during the coronavirus crisis. British Army. Our Porton Down site is designated as a conservational Site of Special Interest I knew I wanted to undertake an apprenticeship when I left college. "DSTL is providing hazard assessment, microbiological testing and operational analysis support to Government," Last month Health Secretary Matt Hancock visited Porton Down to thank the scientists, researchers and the staff "who are working night and day to keep the public safe." Dstl scientists have developed invertebrate animal models using wax moth larvae that are used to screen novel antibiotics, and a replacement for animals in the form of a mechanical rig that represents the human chest and is used to assess protective equipment worn by the military.No projects involving the use of live animals in scientific procedures at Dstl received grants during the latest period (2019).
What’s the effect of humidity? British Army.
"How long does it survive? BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner was given rare access to the highly secretive facility.During a live test - which we were not shown - the room is sealed and sulphur mustard gas pumped in and circulated with giant fans.On the day we visited, we watched from the safety of behind a glass screen as they worked with Yersinia pestis, the bacteria that causes plague.Right at the epicentre of this research is the high-containment facility, a futuristic, two-storey building.Since this would not be practical in field conditions, a balance has to be found between protection on the one hand and impossible physical restrictions on the other.Inside the laboratories men and women, dressed in varying degrees of protective clothing, study a range of potential biological warfare agents.Chlorine, Sarin and mustard gases have all been used in Syria's civil war.It points out that several of the products and procedures developed by them are now in use by the NHS.It's a life-size mannequin - a robot - designed to walk and run in the same way a soldier would in a combat zone.While those incidents were all deliberate, man-made attacks, there is also an ongoing threat from naturally occurring pathogens.The spectre of chemical weapons has never gone away.So Britain needs to keep its counter-measures right up-to-date, not just for its armed forces, but also for its general population.Once through the doors, I found it resembled a hospital, with its blank, featureless corridors and pervasive smell of cleaning products.So what actually goes on inside Porton Down and why does it even exist?It's also where scientists analysed samples confirming that a Novichok nerve agent had been used to poison former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter. It is situated slightly northeast of Porton near Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. Where Dstl works with foreign governments, this is on a contract not grant basis, ensuring that the specifics of the work to be done are clearly stated, along with the associated legal obligations on both parties.Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) is committed to reducing the number of animal experiments and is proactive in developing alternatives.
This is part of ensuring that the procedures provide a valid model of the human disease.Access videos, worksheets, lesson plans and gamesCelebrating people who have made Parliament a positive, inclusive working environmentExplore the Houses of Parliament on this virtual tourFor the period 2018, a total of 586 regulated procedures were classified as severe based on the actual severity experienced by the animals.The welfare of marmosets in the Dstl breeding programme is under constant review by veterinary staff, independent inspectors and the Dstl Animal Welfare Ethical Review Body.Dstl currently uses non-animal physical models, computer models and in-vitro methods.