Animals as Useful Biomedical Models in Research

Although in modern times the practice of veterinary medicine has been separated from that of human medicine, the observations of the physician and the veterinarian continue to add to the medical knowledge. Veterinary medicine plays a great role in the health of man through the use of animals as biomedical models because animals may suffer from similar diseases as man and research on many genetic and chronic diseases of man cannot be carried out using humans. However, only a few species of more than 1,200,000 species of animals can be utilized in research, though practically for every known human disease, an identical or similar disease exists in at least one animal species.

Animal research has played an important role in every major medical advance of the last century for both human and animal health. Seven of the last ten Nobel Prizes for medicine have depended on animal research, for example, the development of penicillin (mice), organ transplant (dogs), and work on poliomyelitis that led to a vaccine (mice, monkeys). The most important uses of animals in science have included the use of the monkeys (rhesus macaque) for the identification of blood types; dogs (beagles) were subjected to cigarette smoke for research on hog cancer, and the use of dogs by I. P. Pavlov to investigate behaviourism. His development of genetics has allowed increasing the research on genetically modified organisms and the cloning of Dolly the sheep has made her one of the best known experimental animals. Thus, animal studies are of great importance to the development of new surgical techniques, the testing of new cures, the prediction of toman reaction to drugs, and nutritional research. Animals are especially valuable in research on chronic degenerative diseases because (hey can easily be caused experimentally in them. Nowadays more and more people are suffering from chronic degenerative diseases, such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases, so experiments on animals may be of great value. It is obvious that new research discoveries that involve (lie study of animal diseases will result in other important contributions to human health.

Vocabulary List

degenerative disease— дегенеративное заболевание

cardiovascular disease— сердечно-сосудистое заболевание

 

Read the text “Animal welfare” and express your own point of view on this problem. Interacting with domestic animals, pets, zoo animals, laboratory animals and even those which live in wild, we have to think about their welfare. What does animal welfare mean?

ANIMAL WELFARE

The issue of rearing livestock for human benefit raises the issue of the relationship between humans and animals, in terms of the status of animals and obligations of people. Animal welfare is the viewpoint that animals under human care should be treated in such a way that they do not suffer unnecessarily. What is ‗unnecessary‘ suffering may vary. Generally though, the animal welfare perspective is based on an interpretation of scientific research on farming practices.

By contrast, Animal rights is the viewpoint that using animals for human benefit is, by its nature, generally exploitation regardless of the farming practice used. It is a position based on anthropomorphism, in which individuals seek to place themselves in the position of an animal. Animal rights activists would generally be vegan or vegetarian, whereas it is consistent with the animal welfare perspective to eat meat depending on production processes. Animal welfare groups generally seek to generate public discussion on livestock rearing practices and secure greater regulation and scrutiny of livestock industry practices. Animal rights groups usually seek the abolition of livestock farming, although some groups may recognize the necessity of achieving more stringent regulation first. Animal welfare groups, in first world countries given a voice at governmental level in the development of policy. Animal rights groups find it harder to find methods of input, and may go further and advocate civil disobedience or violence.

A number of animal husbandry practices that have led to legislation in some countries have been the subject of campaigns in the 1990s and 2000s. Confinement of livestock in small and unnatural spaces is often done for economic or health reasons. Animals may be kept in the minimum size of cage or pen with little or no space to exercise or engage in normal actions or grooming. Close confinement is most common with chickens, pigs, and calves raised for veal.

Unnatural living environments may be used for some animals. Even when allowed to move, animals may be denied a natural environment. For example, ducks may be kept in free-range barns but have no access to water in which to swim. Cattle may be kept in barns with no chance to graze. Intensive raising of livestock may lead to a health problems and the necessity to use antibiotics to prevent disease. In some cases antibiotics and hormones are also fed to livestock to produce rapid weight gain.

 

GENETIC ENGINEERING

When Charles Darwin published “On the origin of spe­cies” in 1859, the Bishop of Worcester’s wife was very much distressed. “Let us hope it is not true,” she said: “But if it is, let us pray that it does not become generally known!”

Supposing that we had been alive 150 years ago, would we have been reppelled by the suggestion that humans and apes may have had a common ancestor? And had our ances­tors been born in modern times, would they have been similarly repelled by the thought of “designer” babies? I suspect that the answer to both questions would be in the affirmative!

I have tried to rationalise my own response to genetic engineering. I personally feel that if we were supposed to be perfect, we would have been designed that way. Surely experimenting with genes is an invasion of the human self. On the other hand, can we honestly say that the human self is to be found in our genes?

From the medical point of view, genetic engineering has opened up exiting possibilities for the treatment of genetically related disorders. However, the real problem with this new science is that it threatens to undermine our world: our moral and social codes.

Yet, if morality had originally been based on reason, our attitudes might have been justifiable. Unfortunately, moral­ity has its origin in prejudice, ritual and habit, and, as a result, the possibilities afforded by scientific advance are increasingly constrained.

 

 

WHAT’S WRONG WITH GENETIC ENGINEERING?

Genetic engineering is a test tube science and is prema­turely applied in food production. A gene studied in a test tube can only tell what this gene does and how it behaves in that particular test tube. It cannot tell us what its role and behaviour are in the organism it came from or what it might do if we place it into a completely different species.

We also know very little about what a gene might trig­ger or interrupt depending on where it got inserted into the new plant or animal. How do we know that a genetically engineered food plant will not produce new toxins and aller­gies? How about the nutritional value? And what are the effects on the environment and on wild life? All these ques­tions are important yet they remain unanswered. Until we have an answer to all these, genetic engineering should be kept to the test tubes.

Animal Bio-invasions. Fish and marine life are threat­ened by accidental release of GM fish currently under deve­lopment in several countries — trout, carp, and salmon several times the normal size and growing up to 6 times as fast. One such accident has already occurred in the Philippines — threatening local fish supplies.

Killing Beneficial Insects. Studies have shown that GM products can kill beneficial insects — most notably the monarch butterfly larvae. A study reported in 1997 by New Scientist indicates honeybees may be harmed by feed­ing on proteins found in GM canola flowers. Other studies relate to the death of bees.

Poisonous to Mammals. In a study with GM potatoes, spliced with DNA from the snowdrop plant, the resulting plant

was poisonous to mammals (rats) — damaging vital organs, the stomach lining and immune system. All products derived from such crops containing transgenic DNA should also be immediately withdrawn from sale and from use for human consumption or animal feed.

Animal Abuse. Pig number 6706 was supposed to be a “superpig”. It was implanted with a gene to become a techno­logical wonder. But it eventually became a “supercripple” full of arthritis, cross-eyed, and could barely stand up with its mutated body. Some of these mutations seem to come right out of Greek mythology — such as a sheep-goat with faces and horns of a goat and the lower body of a sheep. Two US biotech companies are producing genetically modified birds as carriers for human drug deliver — without little concern for animal suffering. Gene Works of Ann Arbor, Michigan has up to 60 birds under “development”. GM products, in general, allow companies to own the rights to create, direct, and orchestrate the evolution of animals.

 

GRAMMER

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