The Importance Of Animal Research Essay Example For Students

The Importance Of Animal Research Essay Research on animals is important in understanding diseases anddeveloping ways to prevent them. The polio vaccine, kidney transplants,and heart surgery techniques have all been developed with the help of animal research. Through increased efforts by the scientific community, effective treatments for diabetes, diphtheria, and other diseases have beendeveloped with animal testing. Animal research has brought a dramatic progress into medicine. With the help of animal research, smallpox has been wiped out worldwide. Micro-surgery to reattach hearts, lungs, and other transplants are all possible because of animal research. Since the turn of the century, animal research has helped increase our life-span by nearly 28 years. And now, animal research is leading to dramatic progress against AIDS and Alzheimers disease. Working with animals in research is necessary. Scientists need to test medical treatments for effectiveness and test new drugs for safety before beginning human testing. Small animals, usually rats, are used to determine the possible side effects of new drugs. After animal tests have proven the safety of new drugs, patients asked to participate in furtherstudies can be assured that they may fare better, and will not do worse than if they were given standard treatment or no treatment. We will write a custom essay on The Importance Of Animal Research specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now New surgical techniques first must be carefully developed and tested in living, breathing, whole organ systems with pulmonary and circulatory systems much like ours. The doctors who perform todays delicate cardiac, ear, eye, pulmonary and brain surgeries, as well as doctors in training, must develop the necessary skills before patients lives are entrusted to their care. Neither computer models, cell cultures, nor artificial substances can simulate flesh, muscle, blood, and organs likethe ones in live animals. There is no alternative to animal research. Living systems are complex. The nervous system, blood and brain chemistry, and gland secretions are all interrelated. It is impossible to explore, explain or predict the course of many diseases or the effects of many treatments without observing and testing the entire living system. Cell and tissue cultures, often suggested as alternatives to usinganimals, have been used in medical research for many years. But these areonly isolate d tests. And isolated tests will yield only isolated results, which may bear little relation to a whole living system. Scientists do not yet know enough about living systems or diseases, nor does the technology exist, to replicate one on a computer. The information required to build a true computer model in the future will be based on data drawn fromtodays animal studies. Primates represent only about 1/3 of 1 percent of animals in research. But during the last half century, research using primates has led to major medical breakthroughs, most notably in the treatment of polio and Rh disease. Vaccines have reduced the cases of polio in the U.S. from58,000 to one or two a year at present. Scientists are learning how the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)works by studying its non-human primate counterpart, the Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) in monkeys. The SIV model is useful in testing drugs for AIDS. In addition, the HIV virus survives in certain kinds of monkeys and although it does not kill the animals, it can be removed from them. This may prove useful in testing an AIDS vaccine. Researchers are studying rhesus macaque monkeys to explore ways to reduce multiple organ failure following hypotensive shock, a loss of blood pressure due to loss of blood. Researchers have hypothesized that damage to the organs occur within the first few minutes after blood flow is reestablished, when a certain kind of white blood cell attaches to walls of blood vessels and releases toxic substances. The researchers reasoned that if, just before blood flow is reestablished, a substance that prevents the white blood cells from attaching to the vessel walls were injected into the blood stream, it might prevent the release of theirtoxic contents and avoid multiple organ damage. It is expected that thisnew technique will prove effective in human patients. .u57b18f527e8314e44803cddde7f94c37 , .u57b18f527e8314e44803cddde7f94c37 .postImageUrl , .u57b18f527e8314e44803cddde7f94c37 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u57b18f527e8314e44803cddde7f94c37 , .u57b18f527e8314e44803cddde7f94c37:hover , .u57b18f527e8314e44803cddde7f94c37:visited , .u57b18f527e8314e44803cddde7f94c37:active { border:0!important; } .u57b18f527e8314e44803cddde7f94c37 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u57b18f527e8314e44803cddde7f94c37 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u57b18f527e8314e44803cddde7f94c37:active , .u57b18f527e8314e44803cddde7f94c37:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u57b18f527e8314e44803cddde7f94c37 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u57b18f527e8314e44803cddde7f94c37 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u57b18f527e8314e44803cddde7f94c37 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u57b18f527e8314e44803cddde7f94c37 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u57b18f527e8314e44803cddde7f94c37:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u57b18f527e8314e44803cddde7f94c37 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u57b18f527e8314e44803cddde7f94c37 .u57b18f527e8314e44803cddde7f94c37-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u57b18f527e8314e44803cddde7f94c37:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Definition Of Heroism Essay Researchers are studying obesity in monkeys in hopes of finding away to control body weight. Scientist are also using monkeys to studyTaurine deficiency, which causes vision problems, and zinc deficiency, which causes growth retardation among infants and fetuses. Researchers are currently studying to see whether reduced caloricintake can slow the rate of aging. This effect has already been observedin lower animals, and if it holds true in primates, it would be a strong indication that humans might be able to increase their life spans by eating less. Primates have the same number and relative size of teeth as humans. Macaque monkeys have been studied by dental researchers to link a specificbacterium to the growth of periodontitis, which affects 75 percent of alladults and causes 70 percent of adult tooth loss. A non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drug, flurbiprofen, has been shown to be effective in halting the progression of periodontal disease. Since the 1920s, scientists have studied primates in order to understand their ability to communicate. They have discovered that chimpanzees and other apes have the ability to learn and use language. Scientists already have applied their findings toward developing a special language for severely mentally retarded children, as well as young adultswith little or no linguistic competence, who cannot learn language as normal children do. People should ensure that an end is not put to progress in animal research. Biomedical researchers know that an animal in distress is simply not a good research subject. Researchers are embarked on an effort to alleviate misery, not cause it. And remember, if we want to defeat the killer diseases that still confront us, such as AIDS and Alzheimers, cancer, heart disease, and many others, the misguided fanatics of the animal-rights movement must be stopped. Think about it, it could some day be your life or your childrens.

Biography of Chilean President Michelle Bachelet

Biography of Chilean President Michelle Bachelet Known for:  First woman elected as president of Chile; first woman minister of defense in Chile and Latin America Dates:  Born September 29, 1951. Elected president of Chile, January 15, 2006; inauguration March 11, 2006, served until 11 March 2010 (term limited). Elected again in 2013, inauguration March 11, 2014. Occupation:  President of Chile; pediatrician You might also be interested in:  Margaret Thatcher,  Benazir Bhutto,  Isabel Allende About Michelle Bachelet On January 15, 2006, Michelle Bachelet became Chiles first woman president-elect. Bachelet came in first in the December 2005 election but did not manage to win a majority in that race, so she faced a runoff in January against her nearest opponent, a billionaire businessman, Sebastian Pinera. Earlier, she was a minister of defense in Chile, the first woman in Chile or all of Latin America to serve as a minister of defense. Bachelet, a Socialist, is generally considered a center-leftist. While three other women have won presidential elections in the Americas (Janet Jagan of Guyana, Mireya Moscoso of Panama, and Violeta Chamorro of Nicaragua), Bachelet was the first to win a seat without first becoming known through a husbands prominence. (Isabel Peron was her husbands vice-president in Argentina and became president after his death.) Her term in office ended in 2010 because of term limits; she was reelected in 2013 and began serving another term as president in 2014. Background Michelle Bachelet was born in Santiago, Chile, on September 29, 1951. Her fathers background is French; her paternal great-grandfather emigrated to Chile in 1860. Her mother had Greek and Spanish ancestry. Her father, Alberto Bachelet, was an air force brigadier general who died after being tortured for his opposition to Augusto Pinochets regime and support of Salvador Allende. Her mother, an archaeologist, was imprisoned in a torture center with Michelle in 1975 and went into exile with her. In her early years, before her fathers death, the family moved frequently and even lived in the United States briefly when her father worked for the Chilean Embassy. Education and Exile Michelle Bachelet studied medicine from 1970 to 1973 at the University of Chile in Santiago, but her education was interrupted by the military coup of 1973 when Salvador Allendes regime was overthrown. Her father died in custody in March of 1974 after being tortured. The familys funds were cut off.  Michelle Bachelet had worked secretly for the Socialist Youth and was imprisoned by the Pinochet regime in 1975 and held in the torture center at Villa Grimaldi, along with her mother.   From 1975-1979 Michelle Bachelet was in exile with her mother in Australia, where her brother had already moved, and East Germany, where she continued her education as a pediatrician.   Bachelet married  Jorge Dvalos while still in Germany, and they had a son, Sebastin. He, too, was a Chilean who had fled the Pinochet regime. In 1979, the family returned to Chile. Michelle Bachelet completed her medical degree at the University of Chile, graduating in 1982.  She had a daughter, Francisca, in 1984, then separated from her husband about 1986.  Chilean law made divorce difficult, so Bachelet was unable to marry the physician with whom she had her second daughter in 1990. Bachelet  later studied military strategy at Chiles National Academy of Strategy and Policy and at the Inter-American Defense College in the United States.   Government Service Michelle Bachelet became Chiles Minister of Health in 2000, serving under socialist President Ricarco Lagos. She then served as Minister of Defense under Lagos, the first woman in Chile or Latin America to hold such a post. Bachelet and Lagos are part of a four-party coalition, Concertacion de Partidos por la Democracia, in power since Chile restored democracy in 1990. Concertacion has focused on both economic growth and spreading the benefits of that growth throughout segments of society. After her first term as president, 2006 - 2010, Bachelet took a position as the Executive Director of UN Women (2010 - 2013).