Jazmin Vazquez

Writing 39C
Advocacy Project Final
Dr. Way
March 7, 2015
A Computer Over the Life of an Innocent Animal
Throughouttimewehavebeenabletocuremanydeadlydiseases.Theyhave
savedmanylivesduetothemedicineandsurgicalprocedures.Doctorsandscientistuse
animalsasresearch,totestmanymedicinesandsurgicalproceduresbeforeapplyingiton
ahuman.Itmakessomesoreofsensethatallthisthingsarepracticedonanotherliving
creaturebeforeitisdoneonactualhumans.Theonlyproblemisthattheseexperiments
arehurtingtheanimals.
Theanimalsaresubjectedtomanycruelexperiments.Theseexperimentsinclude
thingslikepoisoningfortoxicitytesting,damagingbraindamage,testingoutnewdrugs
byinfectingthemwithdeadlydiseases.Procedureslikethesecause:longtermsocial
isolation,withholdingoffood,separatingbabiesfromtheirmothersandmuchmore.The
organizationNewEnglandAntiVivisectionSocietystatesintherearticle,Harmand
Suffering|AnimalsUseinResearch,Manyanimalexperimentsutilizerestraining
devicesSomeresearchprojectscallforimmobilizationofspecificpartsofananimals
bodywhileotherprotocolsinvolveimmobilizationofananimalsentirebody.Rats
andmicehavebeenputthroughprotocolsofimmobilizationbybeingplacedintubes.
Laterontheyareelectricallyshockedtobeputinwatertoseeiftheyareabletokeep
themselvesfromdrowning.Thisresearchortypeoftestingisusedasastress
experiments.Theresearchesthatconductexperimentslikethissay,theseexperiments
hadrelevancetohumananxietyanddepression.(neavs)Nohumanoranimalshouldbe

keptinhostilitywithoutmovingforanextendedperiodoftime.Notonlyaretheserats
andmicekeptwithoutmovingbutalsotheyarekeptwithoutfood.Thereisnoformof
feedingthesecreaturesiftheyareinsertedintubes.Animaltestinghasgonefarwiththe
procedurestheyplaceanimalsin.
Anotherareathatisverydangerousandcausesalotofthesufferingofanimalsis
geneticengineeringandxenotransplantation.Thesearethesurgicalproceduresinwhich
tissue,cells,ororgansaretransplanted.NEAVSsays,Manyoftheseanimalsdie,while
sufferingfromabnormalitiesandotherdiseasedconditions.Theseanimalsaremany
timesweakandunableto
adapttowhateverisbeing
donetothem.Genetic
engineeringtakesoverthe
animalsbodybytryingto
createspecifictraitsinthe
Figure 1 This is a picture that shows the rats in the
tubes that they are placed in to be immobilized.
(elizabethely.com)

animal.Wewereallgiven
certaintraitsandgenetic

formsandtheseshouldnotbechanged.Researchersareforcingtheseanimalstoadaptto
somethingtheywerenotbornwith.
Painisnottheonlythingtheseanimalsaregoingthroughtheyarealsogoing
throughseverestress.Thereasonforthisstressthattheseanimalsaregoingthroughisfor
thelivingconditionstheyaregoingthrough.Theyspendtheirlivesinbarrencages,
unabletomakechoicesorexpressnaturalbehaviors.Mostneverexperiencefreshairor

sunshine,onlybarsandconcrete,saytheorganizationneavs.Thistypeoflifestyleisnot
fortheseanimals.Eachanimalisdifferentandeachoneofthemhastheirowntypeof
environment.Someoftheseanimalsfacestressbyseeingotheranimalsgoingthrough
stressforexamplemice.In2009therewasacaseofmonkeysthatweregoingthrough
chronicpsychologicaldistress.Thesemonkeyswecansayweregoingcrazy.Theywere
spinningaround,rippingouttheirhair,andbitingtheirownwounds.Thecorrecttermfor
thistypeofstressisstressinducedpsychosis.Justthefactthattheseanimalsareliving
insuchconditionsisenoughsufferingbyitselfalready.Thenaddingthesufferingofthe
actuallabprotocols.Theseanimalsareintheselabsforshortorlongperiodsoftime.
Thinkaboutthesufferingnotjustphysicallybutmentallytheygothrough.
Isthepainoftheseanimalsevenworthit?Thesufferingoftheseanimalsisbeing
takenvain.Manyresearchexperimentsdonethathavebeendonehavehadinaccurate
results.Whichmeansthattheseanimalsareputthroughalltheseprotocolsandattheend
ofthedaytheexperimentsisnotgivingouttheresultsresearchersareexpecting.
AccordingtotheHumaneSocietyInternational,datashowthatanimalstudiesfailto
predictrealhumanoutcomesin50to99.7percentofcases.Thereasonforthisis
becauseanimalsandhumansdonotprocesseverythingthesame.
Nutritionisanareathathascausedmanyinaccurateresults.Thereisahuge
physiologicaldifferencebetweenspecies.ForexampleitissaidthatvitaminChelpsto
preventcancer.Micecansynthesizethevitaminwhileushumanscant.NEAVSsaid,
Becauseofthisspeciesdifference,ratsarenotanappropriatehumanmodelfor
studyingtheeffectsoffats.Althoughover95%ofourgenomeissimilartomicethere

aremanydifferenceswebothhave.Withthesedifferences,resultswillcontinuetobe
inaccurateandtheseanimalswillbegoingthroughunnecessaryprocedures.Another
experimentanimalsareusedforhasbeentocreatebraindamage.Creatingthisbrain
damagestimulatestheeffectsofahumanstroke.(AnExaminationofAnimal
Experiments)Thenextprotocolistotestoutdrugstoseeiftheycanreducethebrain
damagethatwasdone.theAmericanHeartAssociationinJanuary1990,reported
that,of25differenttreatmentsthatworkedinrodents,notasingleoneworkedinhuman
patients,saysthephysicianscommitteeintheirAnExaminationofAnimalExperiments
Article.Whenbraindamageiscreatedtheanimalwillnotgobacktoitsoriginalbrain
form.Whichmeansthattheywillhavetolivetherestoftheirliveswithanabnormal
brain.
Thereisasayingthatsays,ThereisalightattheendofthetunnelForthese
animalsthereishopeofotheralternativesbesidestheirlives.Butbeforetalkingabout
thesealternativeswemustdiscussthethreeRs.Duringthe1950,twoscientist
(WilliamRussellandRexBurch)publicizedamanuscriptinwhichtheytalkedaboutthe
needforscientisttodotheir

Figure 2: This is a figure in which you see how the

mouses head looks after a brain damage protocol.
(forschung3r.ch)

workbasedontheprinciplesofthethreeRs.(AnimalExperimentationAGuidetothe
Issues)WhatarethesethreeRs?Well,theseRsStandforreplace,reduce,andrefine.
WiththesethreeRsweareable
toreplaceaprocedurethatuses
animalswithonethatdoesnot.
Wearealsoabletoreducethe

numberofanimalsusedinaprocedureandrefineaproceduretominimizepotential
animalpain.(AlternativetoAnimalTests:TheHumaneSocietyoftheUnitedStates)In
theUnitedStatesabout26millionanimalsareusedintestingeveryyear.Ifthesethree
Rsweretakenintoaccountthelivesofmanyanimalswouldbechanged.ThethreeRs
comehandinhandwiththealternatives.Thepurposeofthealternativesistoachieveat
leastoneR.WithatleastoneRbeingdoneweareastepclosertoendinganimaltesting.

Nowadaystechnologyhasadvancedverymuch.Astimeprogressestechnology
justkeepsgettingbetterandbetter.Scientistshavenowcomeupwithdifferentwaysto
testdiseasesandotherthings.Theyhavecomeupwithmethodsthatwillreplaceanimals
andusetechnologyforthesetests.The4mostknownalternativesforanimaltestingare:
invitrotesting,computermodeling,studieswithhumanvolunteers,andhumanpatient
simulators.Invitrotestingistestingthatcanbedoneinatesttube.Inthesetesttubes
researchersgrowtissueorcellsinsteadofdoingitinsideofananimal.Computer
modelingistestingthatisdonethoughacomputer.Thesecomputerssimulatehuman
biologyandtheprogressofdiseases.(PETA)Thehumanvolunteeralternativeisjustthe
useofhumans.Thesevolunteersaregivenasmalldoseofadrugthatisbeingtested
whiletheyarebeingmonitoredtoseehowthebodyreacts.Thelastalternativeistheuse
ofahumanpatientsimulatorthatmimicsforexampleinjuries.Thesehumanpatient
stimulatorsarealmostlikeyouhavearealhumaninfrontofyou.Theplussidetothese
alternativesisthat,notonlywillanimalsbekeptsafebutalsothatthesemethodsarenot
hinderedbyspeciesdifferences.Whichmeansitwillnotbeimpossibletoapplythetest
resultsofananimaltoahuman.Alternativeslikethesetakelesstimetoshowresultsand

costlessmoneytocarryon.

Figure 3: This image shows what an in vitro procedure of cells looks like. (rsc.org)

Therearemanyreasonswhythealternativesareabetterpickforeveryone.Who
doesnotliketosavemoney?AllofthealternativesIjustmentionedabovecost
extremelylessthanperforminganimaltesting.Manyschooladministratorsoftensaythat
thereasonwhytheydontimplementthesealternativesintheirschoolsisbecauseofthe
cost.Inrealityresearchshowsthatiscostsmorethedissectionofananimalthanbuying
oneofthesealternatives.AccordingtotheHumaneSocietyPress,Dependingon
numbersneed.Theinitialcostofcomputerprogramsthreedimensionalmodelsmayor
maynotbehigherthanashipmentofpreservedanimalsspecimens,butthealternatives

canbeusedrepeatedly,whilethespecimensmustbereplacedafterasingleuse.(The
useofAnimalsinHigherEducation)Thealternativesnotonlysavethelifesofmany
animalsbuttheyalsosavemoneyandaregoodtobereusedmanytimes.Acomputer
lastsmanyyearsaswellasahumanpatientstimulator.

Figure 4: The table shows the cost differences between alternatives and dissection
of animals. (The use of Animals in Higher Education)

ThebookInnovativeStrategiesinTissueEngineeringsaid,Invitromethodsare
fasterandmostcosteffectivecomparedtoanimalexperimentationApartfrombeing
simplycosteffectivealternativetoanimaltrialsisallowsforstudiesofspecificcell
interactionswithbioactivefactorsthatwouldbepossibleinwholeanimalsduetothe
presenceofoftenconfoundingsystemiceffects.Eachalternativehasitsgoodsidetoit.
Accordingtoareviewarticletitled,BasicResearch:IssueswithAnimalExperimentation,
Invivostudiesusingtheanimalsarehelpfulindevelopingthetreatmentstrategiesas
theyareimportantlinkbetweenthesuccessfulinvitrotestingandsafehumanuse.We
seethatthese2printsshowushoweffectivethisinvitroprojectis.Byreplacinganimal
testingwiththistypeofalternativeresearchersareabletomanipulatecellsandtissues
withouthavingtoworryabouttheanimalsdifferenceingenomefromus.The

alternativesarebeingeffectiveandshowingbetterresultsthananimalexperimentation.
TheComputermodelingisagreatusebecauseaccordingtotheIndianJournalof
Pharmacology,theuseofcomputermodelsismoreeffectivethantheuseofanimalsfor
thelapsetime.theproteaseinhibitorsforpatientswithHIVweredesignedby
computerandtestedinhumantissueculturesandcomputermodels,bypassinganimal
testsduetotheurgentneedforatreatment,istheexampletheygiveintheirarticle.
Timeisaveryimportantfactorwhenyouaretryingtofindacureforsomethinglike
HIV.Thereplacementofanimalswithcomputerbasedalternativeshasbegun
worldwide;sofarSpainisat73%. PETAsaysintheirarticleofAlternativestoAnimal
Testing,computermodelsthatsimulatehumanbiologyandtheprogressionof
developingdiseases.Studiesshowthatthesemodelscanaccuratelypredictthewaysthat
newdrugswillreactinthehumanbodyandreplacetheuseofanimalsinexploratory
researchandmanystandarddrugtests.Allofthesearticlesshowushowmuchmore
effectivecomputerbasedalternativesareovertestingwithanimals.
Thenextalternativeishumanvolunteers.Whatthesevolunteersgothroughisnot
harmingtothem.Theamountofdrugdosetheyaregivenisfairlysmallandtheyare
monitoredthroughouttheentireresearch.Thespecifictermforthistimeofalternativeis
microdosing.Besidesitreplacinganimaltestingthistestinghelpstoscreenoutdrug
compoundsthatnecessarilywillnotworkonhumans.Whichisgreatbecausethismeans
thatthegovernmentwillnotrequireforthedrugtobetestingonananimal.Another
animalexperimentationthatcanbereplacedwithhumanvolunteersisarchaic
experiments.ThisexperimentationhasbeenreplacedwithfMRI(functionalmagnetic

resonanceimaging),whichallowsresearcherstostudythehumanbrainveryclosely
withouthurtingthehumanatall.MaxPlanckInstitutionforBiologicalCyberneticssays,
ThemainadvantagesoffMRIlieinitsnoninvasivenature,everincreasingavailability,
relativelyhighspatiotemporalresolution,anditscapacitytodemonstratetheentire
networkofbrainareasengagedwhensubjectsperformparticulartasks.Thebrainisa
veryimportantpartofourbodythatshouldbestudieddeeplyandcarefully.Weseethat
thereisnoneedtohurtanimalsandcausebraindamagewhenthereisthealternativeto
justplaceahumaninanMRI.Lastly,agreatalternativethatcanreplaceandreducethe
useofanimalsintestingisthehumanpatientstimulator.PETAsaysthat,systemslike
TraumaManwhichreplicatesabreathing,bleedinghumantorsoandhasrealisticlayers
ofskinandtissue,ribs,andinternalorgansarewidelyusedtoteachemergencysurgical
proceduresandhavebeenshowninnumerousstudiestoimpartlifesavingskillsbetter
thancoursesthatrequirestudentstocutintolivepigs,goats,ordogs.Therereallyisnot
areasonwhyanimaltestingshouldcontinuewhenwehaveallthesewonderfuloptions
thatcanbeused.

Figure 5: This image shows the inside of a human-patient stimulator. A surgical

procedure is being done. (celebstyle.co)

Tillwhatextentshouldthesufferingoftheseanimalsbetakenintoconsideration?
Althoughmostanimalsandususedinexperimentation(monkeys)areprimatesdoesnt
meanwearethesame.Theoppositionsidebeliefthatthebestwaytobesureadrugor
vaccineworksistotestonananimalbeforeahuman.Geneticmodificationhasbeena
bigissueandcontroversy.Areviewarticle(PublicAttitudestowardAnimalResearch:A
Review)stated,amorerecentstudybyMacnaghten[89]showsanemergingconcern
fromthepublicabouttheincreaseinthenumbersofanimalsusedinresearchduetothe
currentlyinefficientandunpredictablenatureofthegeneticmodificationprocess.By
modifyingtheseanimalsweareforcingchangeinnature.Wehavetothinkaboutwhat
naturecandoifthesechangesaredonetotheseanimals.Whathappenswhenananimal
isgeneticallymodifiedandthenisputtocreatebabies?Yesresearchisveryimportant
becausetherearealwayssicknessesanddiseasesgoingaroundbutwehavetothinkabout
theconsequencesoutsideofthebox.Animalswerecreatedacertainwaythesameway
weweremadedifferentfromthem.Thesealternativeswillcontinuetobetterand
somedaybefullydevelopedtostopanimaltesting.Validationissomethingimportantto

takeintoaccountwhenitcomestothesealternativesandshouldbeseenasaprogress
whenitcomestoreplacinganimaltesting.(Replacementofanimalprocedures:
alternativesinresearch,educationandtesting)

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