Is Animal Research Worth It?

Morality and ethics play a major role in the advancement of medical technology. Is it fair to put an animal through the pain and scrutiny of research? Is it ethically right for a drug that has only been tested on animals to now be tested on a human being that with an entirely different genetic structure? These are a few of the numerous questions being raised about the value of animal research. Answers come in many forms. The advancement of medical research and technology has been, and will be, based upon research that has been gathered from animal testing.

Developing new drugs for different medical ailments and injuries, by use of animal research, dates back to centuries ago. Before the entire drug research era, vivisection and dissection helped to learn about the anatomy and workings of the body. In 1908 the first major animal experimentation was performed. For this procedure two monkeys were injected with a form of polio that was obtained from the spinal cord of a boy that had passed away from the disease. As the experiment began the researchers noticed that one of the monkeys had developed polio like symptoms. Shortly after the experiment started, the other monkey died. Information gathered from this experiment helped enable researchers to conduct further tests and use the knowledge gained to develop a vaccine against the once very common disease.

Not only has animal research been used to help to find a cure for diseases, it also helped in the advancement of organ and tissue transplants. In 1962 a transplanted tumor to a mouse with a low immunity, this marked the first successful transplant on the cellular level. The mice that were used in this particular experiment were "nude" mice. These mice have been genetically altered in order that the immunity is lowered and researchers are better able to follow the information gathered because the interleukins, which cause cellular immunity, are more prevalent. This experiment opened the gates for the possibility of limb transplants and reattachment and also organ and tissue transplants. Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Disease (SCID) mice were developed in 1983 and these mice were found to be even more immune-deficient than the nude mice. This new genetic alteration was known as a transgenic animal. All the information that was used and studied after this experiment led to human tumor and tissue transplants. The immune deficient mice made it possible for creating vaccines for use in immunocompromised human beings. A breakthrough in 1980, the genetic alteration of mice: helped to humans to be able to use transgenic mice in cancer research starting in 1984.

There are many forms of animal research. One of the most common and most publicized ways is cancer research. Over the years and decades biological research has been utilized, a proven method of research is the use of animals. The human genetic code is surprisingly similar to that of animals, especially monkeys. The underlying biology of animals has a complexity in which there are many differences from humans, but the main and most important factors are similar if not the same. The mouse is frequently used because of its rapid reproduction rate. However, there are some key differences between the species. One main difference is the way that cancers arise in both humans and animals. When most humans form cancer, it is formed in the membranes of the body, however in animals, it is more commonly found to start in the bone tissues. In cancer research; dogs, cats, monkeys and other larger animals have to be used because many of the anti-cancer drugs are toxic to normal cells and cancer cells alike, it is found that there is less reaction in the bigger animals.

Dr. Klausner of the US National Cancer Institute states; "The history of cancer research has been a history of curing cancer in the mouse." When Dr. Klausner made this statement he was referring to how so much time and money is spent on cancer research in mice that we have lost focus of what needs to be addressed the most, and that is the cure of cancer in humans.

According to FDA law, all new medications must be tested and researched on animals before it obtains the seal of approval from the FDA. This has been an issue of controversy. This data is meant to provide a liability protection when drugs kill or injure people. All of the new drugs undergo three fundamental testing phases. The first is in-vitro testing, otherwise known as 'test tube' experiments. The second part is the in-silico or computer test. The most common computer program is HUMTRN and it tests the effects that a drug would have on people. The third and final phase of testing before human testing is used; is animal testing.

Ninety percent of all cancer research is done on rodents; ninety-five percent of those rodents are mice. All of the animals that are used for laboratory research are 'purpose bred.' This means that these animals are bred for a specific disease and have been genetically altered to fit this description. If an animal has a mutation or other problem they are removed from the experiment and humanely euthanized. The number of animals used cannot be exactly calculated. This is because there are false reports and not all animals that are used are documented. The average is about 17-23 million animals annually. In 2000, around sixty-nine thousand dogs were used and an average of twenty-six thousand cats. That means that only around one percent of the animals used are dogs, cats, and non-human primates. With all of this the numbers have also been declining.

Many laws are now in place to protect unnecessary experimentation. In the United Kingdom the law states that no animal experimentation should be done