Animal Testing for Medical Research Animal testing for medical research is conducted all throughout the world. It helps scientists discover new drugs, vaccinations, and cures for a multitude of diseases. These diseases included, lung cancer, heart disease, strokes, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, hepatitis C, Parkinson’s disease and several others. (Americans for Medical Process) However, discovering these drugs and cures did not transpire without a cost. While these revelations may have saved thousands of human lives, they have ended thousands and millions of animal lives, and even lives’ of humans. Norman Letvin, animal protectionists, argues, “Many humans infected with viruses or suffering from cancer or heart disease enter into studies that
…show more content…
Florey’s cat died [20]. Under certain circumstances, penicillin kills guinea pigs and Syrian hamsters [21, 22]. In addition, penicillin is teratogenic in rats, causing limb malformations in offspring. This is one of the problems with using animals to predict human response. (Greek)
The tests can be unreliable. Millions of dollars are wasted every year on conducting research on animals. “The US Government spends around $10 billion of taxpayers' money each year on animal-based research […].” (Fox) Not only that, but like said before, there are alternatives to animal testing. Some of these tests create better outcomes, like artificial human skin. Artificial human skin allows for scientists to research the effects of chemicals on skin, without submitting animals to pain. The skin is designed to match that of human’s skin, therefore it is also more reliable than testing on animals. (Neavs) “"Animal skin will vary from animal to animal, […]," Bhushan said. "But, synthetic skin's composition is consistent, making it a more reliable product," he continued.” (Johns Hopkins, 2014) Not only is it more reliable, but it is also more accurate. The pH results from artificial skin are closer to that of a human than animal testing.
Florey’s cat died [20]. Under certain circumstances, penicillin kills guinea pigs and Syrian hamsters [21, 22]. In addition, penicillin is teratogenic in rats, causing limb malformations in offspring. This is one of the problems with using animals to predict human response. (Greek)
The tests can be unreliable. Millions of dollars are wasted every year on conducting research on animals. “The US Government spends around $10 billion of taxpayers' money each year on animal-based research […].” (Fox) Not only that, but like said before, there are alternatives to animal testing. Some of these tests create better outcomes, like artificial human skin. Artificial human skin allows for scientists to research the effects of chemicals on skin, without submitting animals to pain. The skin is designed to match that of human’s skin, therefore it is also more reliable than testing on animals. (Neavs) “"Animal skin will vary from animal to animal, […]," Bhushan said. "But, synthetic skin's composition is consistent, making it a more reliable product," he continued.” (Johns Hopkins, 2014) Not only is it more reliable, but it is also more accurate. The pH results from artificial skin are closer to that of a human than animal testing.