Cancer Suppressing Genes In Elephants

Ferdowsian and Beck go on to add that more evidence supports that animal testing comes at a higher cost to animals than was initially acknowledged. Accounts of anxiety disorders, changes in behavior, hormone levels, and the amount of pain animals endure now drive the conversation regarding reforming animal testing practices. It is also noted that the predictive value of animal models do not translate into clinical success. The majority of animal research does not lead to improving human health. Most argue the use of animals overall is a needless endeavor when new technologies are in place that can provide similar levels of advancement, and when human tissue is available that can offer a better understand of human health.

There is no argument that animals have played a critical role in medical research and paved the way for antidotes, cures and remedies for humans throughout history. Aristotle, who lived back in the fourth century B.C., is one of the first to be recorded as experimenting on a living animal. Back in the 1920s there was experimental testing on dogs which gave conclusive evidence to the functions the pancreas has on producing insulin. Before this, diabetes was untreatable, unmanageable and would easily result in death in humans (The Discovery of Insulin). Although testing on animals has been beneficial to us in many instances, there are several examples that prove testing on animals has hurt rather than helped the process. Many scientists argue that the physiological makeup of an animal differs strongly from that of a human resulting in different outcomes of drugs and other experiments. There has been a strong connection between smoking and lung cancer dating back to the 1960s, however all experiments done with animals failed to show

So researchers can study the effects of treatments or genetic manipulation over a whole lifespan, or across several generations, which would be infeasible using human subjects. Mice and rats are particularly well suited to long-term cancer research partly because of their short lifespans. They are also one of the best breeding animals in the world because there reproduction time takes only two to three weeks. There litters consist of 8 to twelve mice and once they are two weeks old they are ready to be breeded with each other. That makes them an easy target for scientist and researchers. Who would want to stick needles and dissect a cute and harmless animal.

Something that cannot be overlooked is the inaccuracy between animal trials and human trials. In a document released by the PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) it was reveled that more than 80 HIV aids vaccinations passed animal trials with flying colours, only to later fail to treat a single human correctly. Dr. Richard Klausner the former director of the national cancer institute had said the following in relation to the issue “we have cured mice of cancer for decades and it simply does not work in humans.”

To even explain an idea as complex as cancer, Moalem jumps back to the basics of molecular biology- genes. In order to intertwine scientific facts with the author’s main purpose, Moalem generates relatable ideas to the reader. For

Paleopathological findings indicate the presence of tumors through animals well before prehistoric times. Steven Hajdu explains that written descriptions of cancer date back to the Egypt, Byzantine and other Indo-European civilizations where medicine men attempted to cure it using herbal remedies and did not hesitate to use concoctions of iron, copper, sulfur and mercury (1), elements known for its toxic nature. Failing to treat the diseases because of both the lack of knowledge of the human anatomy and DNA or proper equipment, they would claim that the wrath of God had struck upon the ill patient. Medicine Men of this time also did not strive to further study cancer since mortality rates were low due to lack of food, clean water and constant

Both “The Veldt” and the informational text had many positive statements. The article present the topic that scientist are trying to extract a gene from evolving Tasmanian devils in order to cure cancer. Some people may think researching and experimenting on animals are wrong. If researchers are successful, it would be the greatest thing since sliced bread. Many people suffer from some form of cancer.

Yeah it’s kind of funny how the traditional Eskimos were found to NOT have any Cancers , hmmm..

The author of this article makes many valid points in his paper and most of them make sense. I agree with most of what the article is saying. I agree with the idea that the Native Americans were less likely to get cancer, because they eat healthier meat. The Native Americans eat a lot of grass fed meat and fish. I agree with what the article says about how the grass that the caribou eats contains special nutrients and when the Native Americans eat the caribou they receive the nutrients. The article states that Americans have more of a chance of getting cancer than Native Americans, which makes sense. Americans eat more red meat, processed meat, fast food than Native Americans. Most of what the author says seems to be true and there is evidence to back it up.

In fact, our own immune system is 98% identical to mouse’s immune system. (Healthcentral.com) Because human beings and animals are so biologically similar, it makes sense to test them as opposed to testing other human beings. In 2011, a poll conducted by the science journal Nature found that 90% of 1,000 biomedical scientists agreed that animals being used in research are essential to promote safe and breakthrough cures. For instance, animal research has been essential for the development of Heceptin and Tamoxiflen, two medicines that have saved thousands of men and women with breast cancer. (Amprogress.org) Lung cancer is another leading cause of death in the United States. In this case, mice were used to help progress research because of how similar their lungs are to human beings’. (Amprogress.org) Furthermore, it can be said that animal research leads to medical progress.

Their main claim conveyed is animals “will continue to be necessary as researchers seek to alleviate existing ailments and respond to the emergence of new disease” (Botting and Morrison 1). They state that animal research has aided in providing cures and medicines for several diseases and life threatening illnesses’. The authors acknowledge claims made for the opposing viewpoint, such as “the alleged differences between species…that supposedly render animal experiments redundant or misleading” (Botting and Morrison 17). They counterattack each of the claims with providing valid evidence to justify their reasoning. They begin the article by providing information on the issue and move toward the positive effects it has had over the years. They rely heavily on several studies and experimentations to defend their claim. Therefore the dominant appeal is logos because it refers to several studies and experiments that have contributed to the world of medicine. The authors cite a study that affirms that “Experiments using animals have played a crucial role in the development of modern medical treatments” (Botting and Morrison 1). Pathos was used in helping make the article more effective. It was able to prove that the results are not only for that one specific use, but the overall idea. The article was strengthened with its use of deductive reasoning since it develops a conclusion from the information and facts listed. It follows a classical model since it has an introduction, information, evidence, and a conclusion. This balanced approach of logos and pathos they maintain throughout provides the reader the correct impression that they are being unbiased in the analysis. Botting and Adrian’s purpose was to acknowledge all the contributions that animal testing has had on the medical field throughout the

- There are different kinds of Cancers that can be caused by many different factors.

The Tallahassee Democrat News, a site that is part of the USA Today Network, reports current news on scientific advancements. The article, Fruit Flies Yield Clues On Cancerous Tumor Hotspots, offers an overview of the research done by Yoichiro Tamori, Wu-Min Deng, and Emiko Suzuki, who have discovered that epithelial tissues in fruit flies can be cancerous. The reasoning behind studying fruit flies is because, “Flies and humans have a lot in common in terms of genes and pathways for developing cancer” (Haughney). In the article, the researchers explain that the tumor hot spots, which appear to be near the epithelial tissues, found in fruit flies have also been found in several human cancers, “These tumor hotspots all involved an oncogenic signaling pathway that have been shown to play a part in many types of human cancers” (Haughney). However, the scientists do assure the reader that in distinct areas of the epithelial tissue there are tumor cold spots. Without a doubt, this is the beginning of a prolonged experiment, “The more we know, the better we can get at treating and preventing cancer” (Haughney).

The article states that the importance of the research is to gain“insights into human physiology and pathophysiology, including tumor biology” through research of evolutionary medicine. The objective of the research as stated by the article is to “identify mechanisms for cancer resistance in elephants and compare cellular response to DNA damage among elephants, healthy human controls, and cancer-prone patients with Li-Fraumeni syndrome.” Persons with Li-Fraumeni syndrome have a 90% risk of cancer in their lifetime. Li-Fraumeni syndrome is an inherited autosomal dominant disorder in which the TP53 gene on one of the homologs of chromosome 17 is mutated usually passed on from a mutation in germ line cells. TP53 is a tumor suppressor gene which codes for p53, a nucleophosphoprotein that is able to bind to

“The Emperor of All Maladies” captured the whole essence of cancer. This book gave a very good narrative of the historical record of cancer, the scientists and important public figures who contributed to the fight against a disease that has so much caused despair, pain, disfiguring of the body and worst of all, death. Cancer is seen as the abnormal growth of cells. A normal cell becomes cancerous when there is a defect in the regulation of its growth. Cancerous cells also tend to be elusive and resistant to treatments. Numerous attempts have been channeled into demystifying the nature of cancer. Some of these attempts proved abortive while a few served as a harbinger of hope. Cancer have proved to be part of our genetic makeup, hence, total eradication of it remains a future accomplishment.