Essay about Biodiversity: Is Biomedicine Necessary?

The bio-medical model of ill health has been at the forefront of western medicine since the end of the eighteenth century and grew stronger with the progress in modern science. This model underpinned the medical training of doctors. Traditionally medicine had relied on folk remedies passed down from generations and ill health was surrounded in superstition and religious lore with sin and evil spirits as the culprit and root of ill health. The emergence of scientific thinking questioned the traditional religious view of the world and is linked to the progress in medical practice and the rise of the biomedical model. Social and historical events and circumstances were an important factor in its development as explanations about disease

Take a look at the field of medicine around us. Even with the abundant amount of technology that we have now, we still tend to rely on the traditional cures to treat highly insidious diseases. People think that surgeries, transplants, blood fusions, and, in some cases, death are the only ways to treat these illnesses and escape the pain they cause. Little do they know that these are not the only ways to cure diseases. Now we have stem cell therapy. Stem cells promise future cures for many currently considered to be “incurable” diseases, but with more research, we can overcome the controversy surrounding this this topic and help people live longer, improve their quality of life, and save many many lives.

Ever since the late 1960’s and the early 1970’s, animal research has been under extreme fire for what they do. This is mainly due to the many changing perspectives on the relationship between humans and the other aspects of the world that are surrounding them. There are many main reasons for this change, but the main reason is the different ideas that surrounded the use and exploration of animals in laboratories is what is being brought into question.

Animals have successfully been used to understand biological processes, assess safety of different chemicals, develop vaccines and antibiotics, produce treatments for hepatitis C, rheumatoid arthritis, polio, diabetes and many more . However, it is impossible to know if the use of animals was required to acquire this research or if the amount of suffering and death could have been reduced or avoided in order to achieve the same results. It is well established that animals have been invaluable in the pursuit of biomedical research, and the benefits from using animals currently means that eliminating animal research is also immoral. This is because the benefits received from some research greatly outweigh the potential costs to the animals and it would be unjust not to perform such experiments. Consequently, animal research should not be fully banned due to the benefits it yields, but should be more heavily regulated to reduce the moral costs.

In the 21th century we live our lives day to day seeing the next medicine breakthrough. It is easy for us to assume that’s how the history of medicine has always been. On the contrary, medicine became positively modern in the 19th century, new inventions were introduced, new discoveries were brought to their attention, remedies was in the spotlight, and the start of women’s professions generated.

Every year there are new advancements in the medical world, in which people want to find a way to cure or treat certain illnesses. The advancement is so

A world full of death and suffering as a result of diseases that are now generally considered to be non-life threatening, was in humanity’s past not too long ago. According to an article titled The Treasure Called Antibiotics, prior to the 20th Century, infectious diseases including smallpox, cholera, syphilis, tuberculosis and pneumonia accounted for high morbidity and mortality rates; the average life expectancy during this time was 47 years (Adedeji, 2016, para. 1). These widespread, highly feared diseases that had high mortality rates are no longer as life threatening as a result of medical innovations that inhibit and alleviate symptoms and complications associated with these diseases. A significant medical discovery made by a man named

From the early nineteenth century until modern day, the practice of medicine has evolved from a state of health quackery into a field noted for its dynamic attitudes, scientific prowess, and true progressiveness. History affected the course of medical practice in an influential and prospering way. Conversely, the improvements of medicine have also had an effect on certain historical events. The cycle of medicine building the future and the future building how people treat medicine, has been a key descriptor in the twenty-first century, but finds its base in many Victorian era practices. Beyond the evolution of the various medical technologies that people take for granted today, there has also been a change in the ethics and morals embodied by today’s doctors—from Hippocrates and the symbolism behind the caduceus (the universal symbol for healthcare, a snake wrapped around a staff) to the more controversial works of today (Dr. Kevorkian or the studies into fetal stem cells). Regardless of which aspect of medicine, studied, there is a general trend towards a longer, more prosperous life, minimal intrusion by hospitals, and a pain free existence; together these characteristics seem to coalesce into the cornerstone of all medicine.

Why should animals be used for medical research? Is it because some animals are similar to humans probably. Even though animals have rights they should still be used for experiments because if scientist experiment on humans and something go wrong they could kill that human being. That is why animals should be used for medical research because they have different blood type and cells from us. Something that can easily kill us might not kill an animal, so with that they can find a way to cure the disease. In this paper I will represent alternative positions on the topic of testing, teaching and experimenting on different types of animals. I feel when testing things on different animals you get different results. When testing different animals you would get different results because some animals are provided with the help of the law to be giving pain relief. Some species are categorized based on the law. Animals that were funded by the law were the ones to get tested on.

Animal experimentation is defined as the use of “non-human animals in experiments that seek to control the variables that affect the behavior or biological system under study.” (“Animal research”). Animal experimentation can be dated all the way back to Greek writings during the third century. Aristotle, (384 – 322 BC) a physician-scientists; physician-scientists are physicians who pursue their research interests in the laboratory, and Dr. Galen, (129-200 AD3) known as the “father of vivisection”, stated by, Thomassen, et al. (2), when they began experimenting on live pigs. Aristotle and Dr. Galen began animal experimentation to gain knowledge of the animals themselves, unlike current day which is used for medical research. Animal research

In the early 18th centuries, a popular idea was launched with the hopes of finding significant scientific animal research. The idea was known as a vivisection, which is defined as “the practice of performing operations on live animals for the purpose of experimentation or scientific research”. By the next century, the idea had taken off and the term “vivisection” was used specifically for people that were completely opposed to the idea of using live animals for cruel and inhumane experiments, researches, and projects. Now in the 21st century, many anti-vivisection society’s exist; including American Anti-Vivisection Society and the National Anti-Vivisection Society, that were both based off the grounds of ending harmful, cruel, and costly scientific experiments on animals.

This model, it was claimed, invalidated the humoral concepts of the holistic principles of Hippocrates. Galen and Ibn Sina promoted the ideology that man was separate from nature could be viewed objectively through experiment (Boussel et al., 1982). This heralded the birth of scientific or orthodox medicine. The frontiers of orthodox medicine were further broadened by Rudolph Virdow (1821-1902) who demonstrated that disease begins with changes in living cells and by Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) whose role in the development of the germ theory of infection was of key importance (Rees and Shuter, 1996; Gilbert et al., 1998, Bhikha and Haq, 2000). Under the germ theory, disease was associated with specific micro-organisms. Since, then technology through research and development (R and D) had played tremendous roles in the propagation of orthodox medicine which is scientifically based and evolve along certain specifications or routes. These routes led to the manifestations of plethora of specialists in disorders of specific organs, tissue and cells such as cardiologists, dermatologists and neurologists among

“Kindness and compassion towards all living things is a mark of a civilized society. Conversely, cruelty, whether it is directed against human beings or against animals, is not the exclusive province of any one culture or community of people” (César Chávez). Over the years, scientists have struggled to establish a technological way to ensure that their experiments are both safe and accurate. However, economic and political afflictions occurred during the twentieth century that restrained researchers from finding alternatives to test their new drugs. The inflation of disease, the need for cosmetics, and the essence of science urged scientists to conduct their experiments on animals since it was

Stated by Mahatma Gandhi, “The greatness of the nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated”. Medical research on animals is an effective way for scientist to test different medical discoveries and experiment before using them on humans to check their result. This technique has been used for centuries dating back to people such and Aristotle and Erasistratus. What exactly is medical research on animals? When we take a deeper look into the experiment that are preformed we can conclude that animals are a living model of humans in these laboratories. It is a necessity to harm and test animals with new drugs in order to market them in the medical industry to aid human illnesses. In order to better comprehend and regulate drugs one must understand what medical research on animals is described as and its benefits to pharmaceutical companies for humans. Exposure to the trials and tribulations that animal testing reveals how important it is for scientists to understand the negative effects they contribute to an animal’s welfare and life. In contrary animal testing has been used to save many human lives from consuming or using a drug that could have caused them life threatening illnesses.

Franck and Brownstone define biological diversity as 'the variety and variability of living organisms and the biological communities in which they live' (36). Decades of progress in both the scientific and political arenas have advanced environmental legislation to protect biodiversity at not only the ecosystem level, but for specific species and genetic material as well. Research has shown the importance of every organism and their role in the global ecosystem, and legislation has gradually matured to protect not only species which may become endangered, but the habitats they need to survive as well. Growing consciousness surrounding environmental issues has enabled these protections to be