Animal research has often been a controversial issue with animal activists and scientists, placing them on opposite ends of the spectrum at times. The ethics alone have placed a burden on the biomedical community with outrage at the procedures animals have undergone. Animals are killed, injected with fatal diseases, gone without food to test physiological responses and much more at the detriment of the animal’s physical and emotional state. Specific animals are used for research more than others, and these animals are rats (Rattus), mice (Mus), and birds. With that in mind, mice remain invaluable in a biomedical setting for their similarity to the human genome, their cost-effective nature, and their necessity through genetic engineering.
Mice are often used as an ideal non-human model for research that are applied or related to humans. There are 3.1 billion base pairs in the mouse and human genome and only about 5% are protein-coding or genes. These genes are on average 85% identical with
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In 2002, The Animal Welfare Act by the USDA was amended and excluded these animals from the Act’s definition of ‘Animal’, thereby excluding them from protection. When mice and rats consist of more than 90% of all animal research this is understandably concerning because the amendment has yet to be updated as of 2017 (Vandamme, T.F.). However, the manual developed by the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) and the protocol developed by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) work in tandem to ensure that not only the application for grants regarding the research is ethically sound for the treatment of the animals, but that the actual facilities in use live up to specific standards as well. They may not be protected by the act, but the IACUC routinely checks these facilities to make sure they meet all the requirements before, during, and after
“.. But mostly because mice are cheap, docile, and good subjects for genetic engineering experiments” (George Dvorsky, 2012 pg.524). According to the article animals, like rats, body set up is very similar to ours, so if the rats react in a negative behavior, scientist will know something is wrong with the product being experimented. With these technology advancements, there are many ways to study genetics in useful
As a result of their biologically structure, Animal’s are ideal test subjects for medical research. Take for example the common house hold mouse. A study conducted by the Whitehead Institute Center for Genomic Research has revealed mice share 99% of their genes with humans. Due to the near identical genetic structure mice share with humans, in essence, they provide a safer alternative for medical testing. In spite of the similarities, mice and rodents - which make up 90 percent of animal testing - possess short life spans.
This included 1,272 monkeys, 5,771 rabbits, 24,556 guinea pigs, and 33,280 hamsters. This shows that scientists don’t care about what the animals are going through, pain or no pain, they just want to advance in medical techniques, do their job, and get their money. Although humans may benefit from successful animal research, the pain, suffering, and deaths of these animals are not worth this kind of benefit. Animals and humans are alike in many ways. We both think, feel, behave, and experience pain.
Every day around the world there are innocent animals that are hurt, punished, and tortured. For the past 100 years, animal testing has been a huge part of the human research. However, animals are living creatures that should be treated with respect and care. Without said, animals shouldn’t be a test subject for human research Instead of scientists using animals for testing, they could use an alternative test subject. Living tissues will benefit from computer simulations but
After all, there is still a lot of discovery and research that scientists need to perform, specifically in the animal testing field. As a matter of fact, “Thanks in large part to animal-based research, there is a new molecular and genetic understanding of tumor biology.” (Hunnicut). Considering this, why try to discover a new medical field if scientists have possibly only scratched the surface of most of our current medical study fields? Moreover, it is important to consider how much money it would cost to try to develop a brand new field of health study.
Undoubtedly, many people feel indebted to the thousands of scientists and researchers, whose groundbreaking discoveries have lead to various vaccinations and contributions. However, have you ever stopped to wonder how these results are attained? The answer: through testing on innocent, naive animals. Everyday, animals are abused for the purpose of scientific inquiry. Although technology plays such an eminent role in today's society, scientists refuse to use methods which are more humane.
Imagine an enraged animal rights activist charging toward a scientist in a white lab coat, desperate to free the little mice that are being used as test subjects. Although comical, this scene may be quite accurate when describing the passion that animal lovers have when it comes to the touchy subject of animal testing. For centuries, animal testing has been used in the medical research field, however many are now beginning to question whether it is ethical. Millions of animals are killed per year due to animal testing, so is this practice worth banning? Animal testing is a controversial subject, with supporters pointing out the medical advances that have stemmed from animal research and animal rights activists declaring it cruel and immoral.
Thus, that is why many researchers use a mouse or chimpanzee as they share more than ninety percent of their DNA with humans. According to the Americans for Medical Progress, they lastly explain in the following that: “Animal-based research is extremely expensive and it requires a tremendous investment in well-trained people and special facilities. It is also heavily regulated: an institution must spend a significant amount of time and money to ensure that all applicable regulations and guidelines are met. Conducting animal-based research is not something that institutions undertake without a great deal of deliberation and preparation” (Americans
Without a doubt, the advancement in the medical field in the current generation is truly remarkable. It has come a long way as many cures have been developed in order to treat complex illnesses. Besides that, the advancement of modern medication has brought a great advantage to not only human beings but also to other living creatures such as animals and plants. The question that many wonder would be how are these medications developed? It certainly is a complex set of procedure to develop treatments for any kind of diseases, let alone a targeted sickness.
A lot of people heard the term of animal testing somewhere in their life, but they are not sure what exactly that means. It means animal are expose to drugs, where scientists find out how helpful that medication or cosmetic going to be for human body. Many organization use animal testing in their medical research. A lot of cosmetic and drugs are testing on animal before those medication even make it to market. Every time you buy any eye drops or lips products some people try to look at if those are safe to use.
“No matter whether it’s someone from the political left or right, we just need a voice to stand up and defend animal rights” a quote from Brigitte Bardot on animal experimentation. Animal experimentation has been going on for over 300 years and this is just what has been recorded in records. There are many types of test performed on animals:Draize Test: A laboratory test in which a cosmetic or drug is dropped into a rabbit 's eyes, which are held open with clips, to determine the level of irritation. Named after John Henry Draize, a twentieth century pharmacologist with the United States Food and Drug Administration.
It is true that animal testing requires a lot of investment. Not only that money is spent on advanced technologies, it is also spent to pay for scientists’ expertise on this particular field. In order for the scientists to do their research, they need suitable equipment and substances. Every year, the National institutes of Health finances between $12 billion to $14.5 billion on animal testing as indicated in a study done by the government (Bastach, 2013). Besides, scientists need to consider the fact that animals need to be sheltered, fed and cared for to keep them alive.
Animals should not be used in experiments for medical research. Many products that are sold in stores may have been tested on animal which could have either killed or seriously injured these defenseless, poor creatures. Some chemicals that we eat that are listed as ingredients on boxes of food were first tested on
“The assumption that animals are without rights and the illusion that our treatment of them has no moral significance is a positively outrageous example of western crudity and barbarity. Universal compassion is the only guarantee of morality”. The term “animal testing” refers to non-human animals being experimented on to analyze the effects of everything from cosmetics to medications. More than 115 million animals are tested on worldwide and an average of 10% survive. Using animals for research may be beneficial for humans but it is not worth the death and suffering of millions of animals.
Throughout the years, science and medicine have been advancing. Today people use medicine that breaks a fever, cures a headache and even stops a rash. But no one thinks about how someone perfected that. The answer is that they tested it on animals countless times. Animals should not be treated this way and this kind of behavior is unethical and should not be used.