Animal Research in Laboratories What Essay

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Pycroft insists that because the human body is made up of "…trillions of cells, each containing billions of molecules, many of which are composed of tens of thousands of atoms" -- with these microscopic "machines" able to communicate with each other and function in a "stunningly interdependent environment" -- researchers in biomedical environments need tools that can at least "mimic" human biology (Pycroft, 2011, p. 1). And animals are the answer, Pycroft explains, since their cells, molecules and atoms work in similar patterns to humans' biological functions.

Pycroft points to the research by John C. Eccles, who used cats' spinal cords in his investigations, and it led to "the nature of synapse"; Eccles was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology in 1963 for his discoveries (using cats in labs) (Prycroft, 1). Further, Prycroft mentions the fact that if scientists didn't have access to "live organisms, we would know far less about the function of the cardiovascular system, how digestion works, hormonal interactions," and more (Pycroft, 3).

In conclusion, this controversial debate is justified, given that humans need to address the way in which they interact with the natural world and the animals that live in the natural world.
Meanwhile, an article in the Baltimore Sun explains that testing on animals "…could be phased out over the next couple decades," since new systems are being developed (Cohn, 2010). Dr. Thomas Hartung is the director of the Johns Hopkins University's Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing; he asserts that there has been "…development of alternatives to animal research" involving the use of computers to simulate the biological components in animals and humans. There is a "collective recognition" that scientists need to "do better," said Robert J. Kavlock with the Environmental Protection Agency. It is a very hopeful sign for those who oppose using animals in research that there are processes underway that will leave animals out of the lab and stop causing pain to them.

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