It is one of the least hospitable but most biologically diverse places on earth and home to thousands of plant and and animal species previously unknown to science.
Technology proceeds at such a breakneck pace that sometimes it feels like we're rocketing into science fiction territory: Animal cloning, unmanned aircraft and space tourism are all recent realities.
Responding for the government, Lord Henley promised the coalition would "look closely at all suggestions" to reduce animal experiments, and that its approach would be "science-led".
Alan Goldberg, of the Centre for Alternatives to Animal Testing at the Johns Hopkins University School, told Science magazine that although it was not yet an acceptable alternative, it was "a significant advance".
One IGCP project in 2000 was even at the origin of a new field: medical geology, the science dealing with the impact of our natural environment on human and animal health.