Medical Breakthroughs

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

Initially, animals have been used to cure all sorts of diseases and illnesses. Although these animals have helped cure some diseases some people believe that the practice of using animals to test products

Without animal testing we could end up in an extinct state. "Animals are sometimes used in the testing of ... vaccines" (FDA Basics). Over the years we have seen the full effect a devastating epidemic can have. Had we not used the process of animal testing we wouldn't have been able to make a vaccine.

Indeed animals have helped and continue to improve the search for cures; it is just not worth the pain of a defenseless animal.

The news never exploits what amazing discoveries have come from animal research and testing. One amazing break-through was a vaccine for poliomyelitis, it is commonly known as polio, the disease causes a muscle weakness which can lead to an inability to move. The vaccine that was produced made the amount of reported cases drop from 350,000 in 1988 to 223 in 2012. In addition animal testing is responsible for

Animal research has played a vital part in nearly every medical breakthrough over the last decade. Without testing cures on animals, things like modern anaesthetics, the tetanus vaccine, penicillin, insulin and more they would not be in existence today. When you look at all the lives that has saved, I think it’s worth it.

Dr Conn a scientist at the Oregon University said that “polio, smallpox, and tuberculosis are but some of the ailments that have largely disappeared thanks to animal research.” Quoted by Dr Conn, 2009 (biotechpharmaceuticals.suite101.com/article.cfm/is_animal_testing_in_scientific_research_needed)

The use of animals for scientific experimentation has greatly contributed to various life-saving treatments and cures for diseases and minor illnesses that would cause irreversible side effects and even death. Take the poliovirus for example. In the early to mid twentieth century this virus was crippling and killing countless people every year. Thanks to animal research, this virus has practically been eradicated from the world. Another previously mentioned disease that has been able to be treated with ease now do to animal research is diabetes. “Over 1 million new cases of diabetes are diagnosed each year, and based on death certificate data, diabetes contributed to nearly 225,000 deaths in 2002 alone” (AALAS Foundation, online). As the AALAS states, dogs played a pivotal role in the advancements of insulin treatment, because insulin helps regulate blood sugar levels. “Animal research not only produced new vaccines for the treatment of infectious disease, it also led to the development of antibacterial and antibiotic drugs” (Botting and Morrison, p. 84). With these facts, it is clear the use of animal research plays a crucial role for human life. But what about the animals’ lives? They too have benefited from the advancements of animal research. According to the Southwest Association for Education in Biomedical

Animal testing has saved many human lives. Numerous diseases that took lives of countless humans have been treated thanks to animal research and testing. Diseases that now have immunizations include, but are not limited to hepatitis, diphtheria, polio and mumps. Without the animals tested on these diseases would continue to put many people and families through pain and suffering.

Another fact about animal testing is that “The polio vaccine tested on animals, reduced the global occurrence of the disease from 350,000 cases in 1988 to 223 cases in 2012” (Curie). Research on animals granted scientists with major advances in the comprehension and treatment of breast cancer, brain injury, childhood leukemia, malaria, and an immense amount of others, and involved in the creation of pacemakers, cardiac valve substitutes and anesthetics. Chris Abee, the director of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center animal research center explains, “We would not have a vaccine for Hepatitis B without chimpanzees...the use of chimpanzees is our best hope for finding a vaccine for Hepatitis C” (Education Research).

If animal testing was not utilized research for many cures would still to this day being underway. Testing on animals has given humanity many cures and antidotes, saving millions of lives throughout the world. This type of testing, when done humanely has allowed for quicker research in there respective

For decades, the use of animal experimentation has played a vital role in science and has lead to the development of numerous vaccines. However, since it’s beginning, numerous amounts of people have disagreed and protested against this act classifying it has inhumane as well as cruelty. Many organizations have worked to try and abolish animal testing in order to protect animal rights. Against their accusations and beliefs, scientist disagree greatly with the extinction of animal testing because of its value as well as importance to science. Animal experimentation is necessary for medical purposes due to the fact that it has led to many groundbreaking and beneficial advancements in science.

Animal testing saves countless lives and plays a practical role in medical advances. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. In 2009, heart disease claimed the lives of some 616,067 people (“FastStats”). However, due to the continuous research done on animals, doctors have found many treatment options for heart disease. For example, surgeries such as heart transplants and coronary bypass have been made successful because of the research done on animals. “In the late 1950s” the first heart transplant was done at Stanford University on a dog (Trull 65). Without this experiment, researchers would never have fathom how to stop the body from rejecting a donated organ (Trull 65). Today many people survive heart transplants because of the testing first done with animals. In addition to surgical procedures, animal testing has been used to develop various vaccines and medicine. Vaccines are used to help   the body fight off an attack of different infections and diseases (“Vaccines”). The development of medicine to fight diseases such as HIV “depends entirely on experiments in animals” (Loeb 72). These vaccines are crucial for human survival. They protect us against bacteria, viruses, and airborne pathogens. Animal experimentation also benefits people who live with life long illness. In 2010, 18.8 million people living in the United

The use of live animals is believed to have begun during ancient times, mostly in order to fulfill the curiosity of the human body. It has been within the last century and a half that more advancements have been made in medical research than in any prior era. Diseases such as polio, tuberculosis, malaria, and smallpox can now be either prevented or treated due to pharmaceutical research that involved the use of animals. The use of animals in scientific research is important because the use of animals has allowed there to be many advancements in the medical field, such as discovering vaccines for deadly diseases, and has allowed for the regulation of chemicals that may be harmful for human and animal consumption.

There are countless diseases and conditions that were once prevalent in society but thanks to modern medicine many are now either eradicated or minimized to reasonable living with. A multitude of these leaps and bounds in the bio-medical field are actually made possible from animal experimentation. Smallpox, polio, anthrax, and tetanus are just a few of the many examples of conditions that society has been able to mitigate due to the research that was done with animals. Although these experiments on animals have been given a handful of negative rapport from many and have created an ethical dilemma, they are absolutely necessary for modern medical advancements, safety, and economics.