Research in the medical field has been an extremely large industry around the world for centuries. This research is used to find cures for diseases and illnesses which is necessary for the human population, but it costs millions if not billions of dollars annually and is a long process that can take up to ten years to finish one medical trial. All drugs and treatments have to pass a model organism trial before being tested on humans in a clinical trial due to ethics in medicine. Model organisms are usually mammals, reptiles, or amphibians. Due to their many pros as lab animals, rats and mice have become very popular in the medical testing industry. In his article “The Mouse Trap: The dangers of using one lab animal to study every disease”, …show more content…
The lab mice in his lab were over-eating and not exercising, which messed with his data. This was proven when a neurotransmitter called glutamate passed the model organism trial with success, but failed in humans (Engber). This was because his lab mice were chubby and unhealthy. When Mattson retried his glutamate-blocker trial on mice that were put on a strict diet, the trial failed just like the human trial (Engber). Due to this failed experiment, Mattson believes that other trials could have been invalid due to the health of the lab mice and those experiments should be re-examined (Engber). If it is known that the health of the mice messed up Mattson’s data and overall experiment then how are we to know that it hasn’t messed with more data. This could put human clinical trials in danger because the humans are going to react in a completely different matter than the mice did because their health, eating habits, and living arrangements weren’t in the correct conditions for an …show more content…
Mice can be bought for about five dollars, delivered in two days, and maintained for a nickel a day (Engber). Their genes can be altered, added, and deleted (Engber). The mice give similar results and data for scientists to compare; also, they are not very contagious. JoAnne Flynn, a microbiologist, said,” As for mice, "it's not that [they] aren't useful," she says, "or even that they're not the most useful possible system. Rather, it's that by focusing only on the mouse, we're running a grave risk." Although all of these are good points on why mice make good laboratory animals, the cons outweigh the pros. Mice and labs may still be useful in some studies due to these pros that they provide to the research world of science, but they shouldn’t be used in the every study. Flynn, a scientist that will be later discussed sees a place in research for multiple model organisms because different questions require different methods (Engber). Mice aren’t the answer for every
Thyroid and metabolism hormones play a large role in the daily lives of all living species. Thyroid hormones regulate the metabolism and the metabolism is responsible for maintaining a specific range for the biochemical reactions that occur in the body (Martini 2014). The most important hormone for metabolic maintenance is thyroxine (T4). This hormone also plays a large role in body heat regulation. It is produced by the pituitary gland and secreted by the thyroid gland. The thyroid releasing hormone (TRH) must trigger the thyroid stimulating hormones (TSH) to release thyroid hormones to the thyroid gland. These hormones are under control of the hypothalamus, or main neural control center. Propylthiouracil (PTU) is a medication used to treat
Without animal research, cures for such diseases as typhoid, diphtheria, and polio might never have existed. Without animal research, the development of antibiotics and insulin would have been delayed. Without animal research, many human beings would now be dead. However, because of animal testing, 200,000 dogs, 50,000 cats, 60,000 primates, 1.5 million hamsters, and uncounted millions of rats and mice are experimented upon and die each year, as living fodder for the great human scientific machine. Some would say that animal research is an integral part of progress; unfortunately, this is often true. On the whole, animal testing is a necessary evil that should be reduced and eliminated whenever possible.
Nonetheless, animal enthusiasts request the banishment of animal experimentation in the laboratory. Unlike in the past century, both views have finally reached an agreement in this debate: as of now, a limited amount of rodents, or primates, such as white mice and rhesus monkeys can be tested in the laboratory. Which begs the question, why are these selected fews continue to be subject to gruesome experimentation unlike their brethren? Additionally, their moral status is lesser than other fauna, and shouldn’t they instead receive the same respect as well?
Over 100 Million animals are burned, crippled, poisoned and abused in testing Labs every year. Animals are used to test the safety of products, advance scientific research, and develop models to study disease and to develop new medical treatments all for the sake of mankind. Animals should not be used for scientific research because animal testing is inhumane, other testing methods now exist, and animals are very different from human beings.
Why do we have to use animals for research? Many humans and animals get the same illnesses because animals are biologically similar to humans. Animals have a shorter life cycle than humans and as a result, they can be studied throughout their whole life span or across several generations. According to information from the Office of Technology Assessment, it is estimated that between 17 and 23 million animals are used in research each year. Approximately 95% of these animals are rats and mice specifically bred for research and 4.25% of these animals include rabbits, guinea pigs, sheep, fish, frogs, insects, and other species. Most importantly, only 0.75% of the animals in research are cats, dogs, and primates. Major medical advances have been made because of the research of these animals. (Animal Research 2013)
Imagine if your pet was getting experimented on for a product you might buy in the future. Would anyone really want that product, your pet was in pain because of it? Animals are getting experimented on for products to get released to the public. Some companies are using vitro researching to test their products but not enough companies are using vitro as their form of testing products. Synthetic skin could reduce the amount of animals getting tested on everyday for companies to release new products to the public. Animals are getting experimented on everyday.
Researching on mice was began in a Laboratory in Bar Harbor in Maine. In the year of 1953, researcher Leroy Stevens began on an experiment with cancerous mice. This laboratory was awa...
One reason that animal testing is beneficial is that animals can sometimes make better research subjects then humans because of their shorter life cycles. For example, laboratory mice only live for two to three years, so researchers can study the side effects of the tests that are preformed over a whole lifespan, which would not be possible ...
For centuries scientists have used animals to study the causes of diseases; to test drugs, vaccines and surgical techniques; and to evaluate the safety of chemicals used in pesticides, cosmetics and other products. However, many scientists amongst animal- right activists forbid the use of animals in scientific research regardless how many illnesses are eliminated through the use of animals in scientific research. Amongst animal right activists, David Suzuki also raises concerns towards animal experimentation. In his article, The Pain of Animals, Suzuki argues that humans have no right to exploit animals because--much like humans--animals also experience pain. In contrast to Suzuki, Haldane, in his article, Some Enemies of Science, argues because animals are very similar to humans, scientists have no choice but to use animals in scientific experiments. Both authors greatly contrast their opinions towards animal experimentation; however Haldane has a more explanatory approach towards animal experimentation. He argues animal experimentation should be acceptable because other forms of animal exploitation are acceptable in society. Secondly, unlike other forms of exploitation which seek pleasure in killing animals such as leisure sport, scientists, most likely do not harm animals; if pain is intended on an animal it is strictly for the purpose of scientific advancement. Thirdly, although, animal experimentation may cause some extinction, it is only one of many other causes of extinction, if other causes are not condemned; then neither should animal experiment...
Using animals for medical experimentation, product testing, and education is a controversial subject that often leads to a large argument. While the problems can go into detail, the suffering involved in animal experimentation is painfully clear. Every year there are tens of millions of animals that die in federally and privately funded experiments. A projected 90 percent of all animals used in research are rats and mice, and many other species including guinea pigs, dogs, cats, rabbits, nonhuman primates, and farm animals are killed every year to animal testing. (UGA) The experimentation of animals and testing has not stopped because it is not the most accurate or reliable means of research, but because of the tradition, peer pressure, and large amounts of funding from those with strong invested interests into the business. (UGA)
Animal testing, also known as Animal Experimentation, is using non-human primates to test human products on. The discipline of science impacted is biology. Majority of Animal Testing is done in Universities, medical schools, and pharmaceutical companies. The controversy of Animal Testing is deciding whether to continue or ban it. Both would affect the world, or society as whole, since animal testing does decide what is the right doses, vaccinations/medicines, what will affect the human body and what will not.
There are billions of other species on our planet. And every single one of those species is, in fact, different in their own way. It is absurd to believe that human diseases or aliments can be cured with the information garnered while experimenting on animals. We as humans are all unique and highly complicated. Information gathered from animal testing would not be accurate for a human in need of a cure. “The tests would not cooperate with the human body as it does with the animal tested upon. A good number of scientists both agree that methodology is invalid and counterproductive from the biomedical research today. There are only two ways to deal with human health problems. And that is, is to practice prevention and elimination of environmental toxins.” (Burgos) This fact stated shows that not everyone believes that animal testing is not appropriate in a...
When someone goes to the store and buys a product, or is prescribed medication, they don’t have to worry if the product is safe to use nor should they. The entire human race benefits from animal research. “Without animal research, medical science would come to a total standstill”(O’Neil 210). It is not as if Scientist and researchers just sit in their labs all day and torture animals for fun. Not to mention animal use is being reduced as much as possible, “most scientist are glad to use alternative test because they are usually faster and cheaper than test on animals”(Yount 72). However, “you cannot study kidney transplantation or diarrhea or high bloodpressure on a computer screen”(O’Neil 212). Besides, “Animal research has led to vaccines against diptheria, rabies, tuberculosis, polio, measles, mumps, cholera, whooping cough, and rubella. It has meant eradication of smallpox, effective treatment for diabetes and control of infection with powerful antibiotics. The cardiac pacemaker, microsurgery to reattach severed limbs, and heart, kidney, lung, liver and other transplants are all possible because of animal research”(O’Neil 210).
Throughout centuries medical research has been conducted on animals. “Animals were used in early studies to discover how blood circulates through the body, the effect of anesthesia, and the relationship between bacteria and disease” (AMA 59). Experiments such as these seem to be outdated and actually are by today’s means, scientists now study commonly for three general purposes: (1) biomedical and behavioral research, (2) education, (3) drug and product testing (AMA 60). These three types of experiments allow scientists to gain vast amounts of knowledge about human b...
Animal experimentation is contentious issue in today’s society that, whether it continue or should stop. Many animals such as monkey undergo painful suffering or even death as a result of scientific research for the sake of humans’ health. Among the animals monkeys are the main victims of the scientists’ experiments because of their human-like characteristics and physical process to humans. Monkeys’ similarities allow the scientists to test effectiveness of the new discovered drugs, food additives, and chemical and even cosmetics products. Although, such medical experimentations had helped scientists to produce vaccines, and medicines that are necessary for elimination of some deceases, but the test had negative medical effect on monkeys.