Esteban 1 Daisy Esteban English 114 A Progression C Essay Professor Batty November 25,2013

Reduced but not Eliminated

Have you ever thought about how soap became a soap? Or how a painkiller took away your headache? It is not often taken into consideration now a day how exactly a product landed on ones counter. As consumers, we have grown accustomed to products being easily accessible that we do not even question how exactly it got on our table. Before anything can get to consumers it must first be put through a series of test, as consumers we expect everything to be safe, by doing animal experimentation we are receiving the most accurate results possible. Animals are essential and play an important role in things humans use on a daily basis without it we would have nothing. Animals cannot be replaced with technology, by relying solely on technology the accuracy of the finished result working will not be very high. Animal testing comes in good use for biomedical research, and for products used on a daily basis. Although some may argue it is unethical to use animals in research, they are vital to our livelihood. Completely replacing animal testing is impossible the number of animals used can be reduced but not eliminated. Animals are used in biomedical research to help find cures for illnesses with in the

Esteban 2 human specie. For example dogs played an important role in the development of insulin in the diabetes research. Over 7% percent of the population is affected by the disease without insulin treatments to regulate the blood sugar levels, many more diabetics would die. This is a prime example of how useful and important animals are. Animals have organs and body systems similar to humans, which help the end results to be more accurate. Alternative methods to avoid using animals for testing are not as fully accurate which could result fatal in some humans. The article Use of Animals in Biomedical Research: Understanding the Issues well explains how animals are chosen based on gene similarity and immune to getting some of the same diseases that affect humans. Another example of how we benefit from the use of animals in biomedical research are the advances in genetic engineering have allowed the research community to customize mice with specific immunologic deficits that are useful in cancer research, as explained in the article Rats and Mice Are Important for Cancer Research using rats and mice have given us a great opportunity to find a cure for cancer because of the similar immunologic deficits, ultimately the goal is to one day find a cure and by using animals we are on that path. Animals are well housed and cared for they must be kept healthy to provide the best results, Using laboratory animals in scientific studies allows researchers precise control over the animals environment to ensure that the animals are healthy and thus keep experimental variables to a minimum. Healthy, well cared-for, adequately housed animals are necessary to produce accurate research results. (AALAS Foundation). Animals are not used all the time but they are considered an important essential. Using animals for research helps save thousands of lives every year. Animals are not only useful in biomedical research, they are also important on products humans depend on, on a daily basis. Life with out our essential products such as soap, shampoos,

Esteban 3 food, electronics is not thought of and many dont realize the importance of animal research, and how it exactly affects us on a daily basis. Test such as eye irritancy are run on animals, this test what will happen if any product gets into the eye. Animal testing is important to make sure products are not harmful to humans or to the environment. In the 1930s, there were two cases where untested products caused tragedies: an eyelash dye resulted in numerous cases of blindness and at least one death. (APS). This is a great example of how animal testing is important to humans. With out making sure products are safe humans we would pay the consequence, which could lead to possibly death. It is essential that we make sure products we use are safe to us and our surroundings. The ones that argue animal testing is unethical don not take into consideration that with out it they would have nothing. Everything we as humans rely on at one point had to be first put through an animal. Products such as make-up, shampoo, soaps must be tested on animals before they can be used by humans, if this were to not happen their would be a lot of less humans because we would be receiving products that can possibly damage our health. Animal testing is not something that anyone wants to do but if it is not done problems will not be solved, no new ingredients will be used, innovation stops. Testing on animals is essential not only because it provides accuracy, but also keeps us as humans safe from being exposed to anything that can be harmful to us or our environment. Its either animals or us who get to put through the test. Some may argue that there are other alternatives to using animals such as computer modeling, MRIs, and In Vitro testing as explained in the article It Is Not Possible to Completely Replace Animals in Medical Research, there are other alternatives such as these but in the end animals are still used/ required. Computers are limited to what they can do while animals offer far more. Animals are needed before we even get to use the computer. To advance research in

Esteban 4 vitro testing, animals cannot be replaced altogether. The reason is very up-front: a drug might work adequately on a cell in a test tube, but maybe not in a human body. A test tube has no blood circulatory system, no liver, no brain, and no nervous system at all. A test tube cannot feel pain. The results are doubtful until they are tested on an animal. And lastly using MRI scanning instead of animals would provide an image, but not exactly an alternative to solve the problem like animal research. People tend to ignore the facts and believe animal testing is harsh to the animals but in reality Researchers understand that pain causes stress for the animal, and this stress can seriously affect the results of the study. This argument also ignores the fact that both humans and animals suffer from diseases that cause years or even a lifetime of pain. (AALAS Foundation). Animal testing is necessary for scientific advancement and human well-being, there will be a trial and error, rather it be the animals or us. Inclusion using animals for testing is vital and cannot be replaced. The amount of animals used can be reduced but cannot be replaced by computers and other alternatives because they are so limited on how humans might actually react. Animal testing provides new ways to advance our technology weather it be in biomedical research or products we use on a daily basis. Using animals helps us better our everyday life style and helps us learn each day more about our surroundings and about us, it allows us to save millions of lives each year. Everyone benefits from animal testing in some way or form even animals themselves. Alternatives are not indeed an option since in the end they still require the need of animals. There is no better way then getting a result from an actually living thing that feels and has some of the same characteristics as we do, then from getting them from a computer that has no feelings and does not provide an accurate finish result. In the end test must be done it is either animals or us.

Esteban 5 Works Cited Mulder, Guy. "Rats and Mice Are Important for Cancer Research." Animal Experimentation. Ed. Susan C. Hunnicutt. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. At Issue. Rpt. from "The Next Rodent Model." Drug Discovery & Development (8 Apr. 2011). Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 11 Nov. 2013. Speaking of Research. "It Is Not Possible to Completely Replace Animals in Medical Research." Animal Experimentation. Ed. Susan C. Hunnicutt. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. At Issue. Rpt. from "Alternatives?" Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. Use of Animals in Biomedical Research:Understanding the Issues. Memphis: American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, n.d. PDF.

"Why Are Cosmetics and Other Products Tested on Animals?" American Physiological Society Why Are Cosmetics and Other Products Tested on Animals? N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2013.