The Ames test is a biological assay to assess the mutagenic potential of chemical compounds. A positive test indicates that the chemical is mutagenic and therefore may act as a carcinogen, since cancer is often linked to mutation. However, a number of false-positives and false-negatives are known. The test serves as a quick and convenient assay to estimate the carcinogenic potential of a compound since standard carcinogen assays on rodents are time-consuming (taking two to three years to complete) and expensive. The procedure is described in a series of papers from the early 1970s by Bruce Ames and his group at the University of California, Berkeley.
Read more about Ames Test: General Procedure, Ames Test and Carcinogens, Limitations, Fluctuation Method
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“Tried by a New England eye, or the more practical wisdom of modern times, they are the oracles of a race already in its dotage; but held up to the sky, which is the only impartial and incorruptible ordeal, they are of a piece with its depth and serenity, and I am assured that they will have a place and significance as long as there is a sky to test them by.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)