00:00These little things can answer big personal questions fast.
00:03Do you have the flu? Are you sick with COVID? Are you pregnant?
00:07What most people don't know, animals are used to make them and can die in the process.
00:13But these inconspicuous algae growing all over our coasts and floating in the ocean can put an end to this.
00:20These two founders developed the first animal-free pregnancy test and are now trying to spread the word.
00:27We need awareness. We need the people to buy it because if there's a demand, also the industry changes.
00:34Could this be the cruelty-free future of diagnostics?
00:40We're in the north of Germany, where the ocean kisses the beach.
00:44Alina Eilers and her father are on a treasure hunt for this story's VIP.
00:49It's hiding somewhere in the mud.
00:51At low tide, the sea retreats up to 40 kilometers and builds the German Mudflats, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
01:01When the water is gone, you have millions of animals and it's such a big ecosystem that's unique and fascinating.
01:10It's home to more than 10,000 species that often live buried in the mud.
01:15Like the peppery ferro shell that digs itself into the ground. Or the lugworm.
01:20It's so slimy. It's okay, it's okay. As long as it's moving slowly, it's fine.
01:30And then there's this brown slush. The algae in question. It's easy to miss.
01:36It's brown on brown, but like rusty brown on muddy brown.
01:40It's a very simple organism. It just needs sunlight, it needs some salt water, some other nutrition and basically CO2
01:49to do photosynthesis and to grow and produce oxygen.
01:55In fact, 25% of all oxygen we breathe comes from this type of algae that looks marvelous up close.
02:02It's called the diatom and has 100,000 subspecies.
02:06It also binds 25% of all carbon dioxide out there.
02:10So it plays a really important role in preventing the planet from heating up further.
02:14And it's super low maintenance. It even survives being stepped on or baked in the sun.
02:19It's fine. It gets up again. It survives. That's fine.
02:24And, as Alina found out, it's got the power to shift how we do diagnostics.
02:29To do that, it has to leave its natural habitat and enter the lab.
02:34Here it's used to make a pregnancy test. The first one to avoid animal use at every stage.
02:40Most home diagnostic tests work like a game of catch. Antibodies on the test strips spot a specific antigen, such
02:47as a hormone in the urine of pregnant women, and send out a signal.
02:50To get these antibodies, scientists essentially hijack an animal's immune system.
02:54For example, it would be a mouse or a rabbit. You would inject them with your antigen of interest.
03:00You would let that animal naturally produce antibodies to that protein, and then you would extract the blood from that
03:10animal.
03:11Scientists do this when they develop a new test, like when there's a new COVID variant.
03:15But that's not all. Lab animals are also used to mass-produce antibodies for common tests.
03:22Undercover footage from a German farm shows rabbits that are being held to produce antibodies and to extract blood.
03:28It's an exceptionally gruesome case.
03:30This method is decades old, but it's still being used today.
03:34Each year, an estimated 276,000 animals are used for antibody production in the EU alone, though not all for
03:42diagnostic purposes.
03:44Luckily, we have other ways to make antibodies.
03:49Bacteria and yeast cultures, for example, though they can't grow the complex antibodies Alina needs.
03:58The one that's more conventionally used is that you use, you know, a very small number of animals to extract
04:04their cells, immortalize those cells, and then you've got that antibody as much as you want.
04:09It's called animal cell culture and can take place in a lab like this one. But it also has its
04:16costs because the cells are demanding.
04:19The animal cell culture needs an environment that's blood-like because the cells need an environment they know.
04:26So it's 37 degrees and a media like a solution that's made up from blood sour from other animals.
04:34To get these settings, you need high-tech gear, like expensive incubators.
04:39The cost of producing antibodies and discovering antibodies is very high.
04:44And I feel like if you can crack this way of making it in something like algae, and you can
04:49produce it on a real large scale, that's really advantageous.
04:54Because the algae in question are very undemanding.
04:57They live comfortably in this tank at 20 degrees Celsius, sea temperature, in simple salt water with a lot of
05:04light.
05:04Though right now there's only water in here.
05:07That makes the system considerably easier to run.
05:10In theory, the algae can grow antibodies for various lateral flow tests, the kind of tests you usually use at
05:16home.
05:18Alina and her team are already looking into developing menopause and ovulation tests.
05:25The majority of lateral flow tests used are in lower middle countries where we're trying to get that cost as
05:31low as low as possible.
05:32And if you can lower that cost by producing them in algae that just need to sit in the sun
05:38and harvest that energy just to produce the antibodies
05:41and maybe use a lot less energy, a lot less personnel, then that's a real advantage.
05:48But for this to work, an entire industry would need to be convinced.
05:52In theory, that would match European policy.
05:56In 2020, the European Commission published a report calling for an end to using animals to make antibodies,
06:02for ethical concerns and because there are valid alternatives.
06:06But in practice, this is a tough nut to crack.
06:08Using animals in this field is very well established, so it's a bit of a never change a running system
06:13situation.
06:15Bioengineers in general are risk averse, you know, so we'll go for what is well understood and works well.
06:22And obviously it is a field that's dominated by some massive biochemical companies.
06:28They most of all look for price, quality and a sturdy value chain.
06:33And they are yet to be convinced that the new antibodies are better than what's already on offer.
06:37So Alina and her team want to prove their approach is fit for the industry.
06:41In 2025, their animal-free pregnancy test hit the shelves of German drug stores.
06:48It's EU certified and yields 99% correct results, like conventional tests.
06:53At the beginning, it was like totally unreal to see my own product in the shelf.
07:00So it's a great experience.
07:03Since then, Alina has already had to lower the price, because consumers weren't buying it.
07:08Right now, it's in a similar price range to the other tests.
07:11Their labels don't mention the use of animals anywhere.
07:14If you're lucky, you can dig it up in the fine print.
07:18It's not communicated. It's just nothing.
07:22People who buy these tests, like any tests, rapid tests, know.
07:28It's a different story with cosmetics.
07:30The industry shifted to animal-cruelty-free testing for makeup years ago
07:35and made sure to label it.
07:37Alina hopes to repeat this for rapid tests.
07:39But first, she needs to get the message out.
07:45A couple days later, in Germany's capsule Berlin,
07:48Alina and her co-founder Stephanie are getting ready for a gig.
07:52At the live recording of a YouTube show,
07:54a group of sustainable startups pitch their products to digital creators,
07:58hoping for reach.
08:01That's always an obstacle we have,
08:04that the audience doesn't know we have to make awareness.
08:07And I think Stephanie can do that very well.
08:10That's so lovely.
08:12So, she will pitch.
08:15Nerves in the room are running high.
08:18A few finishing touches.
08:23And they're on.
08:30So we not only created a better product,
08:32but also a future in which no animals will have to die
08:35for pregnancy tests and other rapid tests.
08:38Yeah, it's okay.
08:39Yes, it's good.
08:40We'll do it.
08:43And success.
08:51It was freaking amazing.
08:53Yeah, it was great.
08:54Yeah, it was beyond awesome.
08:57Yeah, they were so lovely.
08:58They were so interested.
09:00And we have a deal.
09:03One of the creators, with a huge female following,
09:07agreed to broadcast their product online.
09:09She was baffled to learn about the use of animal testing herself.
09:14I honestly didn't know that pregnancy tests aren't vegan.
09:18It's really important to address this
09:20and to get this information out into the world.
09:24What happens next will depend on how well this works.
09:27To truly change diagnostics,
09:30Alina and Steffi's technology needs funding, scaling,
09:33and trust from regulators, manufacturers,
09:35and eventually consumers.
09:37If it works, it could put fewer animals at risk,
09:40put less pressure on resources,
09:42and allow more people to benefit from diagnostics globally.
09:46From the Berlin stage, to the lab, to the sea.
09:49This story shows what's possible when science looks beyond routines
09:52and follows new paths.
09:55.
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