Animal Testing.

Celina Diaz
12/15/10
English 101
Professor Lawless
Research Paper
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Animal testing is a topic that many think started recently, but actually it has a long

history. It goes back to even the earlier centuries when goats and pigs were dissected.

Testing has varied greatly since the start but not by much. Back in the early 1600’s,

animal testing was used to learn more about the blood circulatory system first hand.

Centuries later, the experimentations became a bit more intense when French chemist,

Louis Pasteur infected sheep with anthrax and started to observe them to prove a germ

theory. This was quite an achievement because it proved that infections do not start

suddenly or without cause

(http://www.brighthub.com/science/medical/articles/16237.aspx). Today it’s used in

make-up or other recreational use, but typically animal testing is used for medical

research and to learn information on how human bodies work. Although there are many

benefits, certain groups are against it. Many see it as cruel for the animal to be put

through test after test to prove a theory. Animal testing is a controversial topic which

benefits humans greatly but may not be necessary due to different alternatives.

There are many different types of testing, or research done on animals. There is

pure research, applied research, toxicology, and drug testing. Pure research does not have

a purpose other than examining organisms and how they develop, behave, and function

for extra knowledge. This is used in breeding, and behavioral experiments. Applied

research is research in which there is a purpose to find answers to things such as disease.

This is used usually when involving genetics. “Genes may be inserted, removed, or

modified, to cause the animal to exhibit symptoms which mimic a certain disease.”

(http://www.brighthub.com/science/medical/articles/16238.aspx). Meaning, in order to

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find out more about the disease, scientists actually give the animal the disease. After,

scientists and researchers observe the animal to find out how the disease is developed and

how they can prevent it. Another test used is toxicology. Toxicology is mainly used for

drug companies to test their drugs, such as food additives, air fresheners and cosmetics,

before they put it on the market. Out of all of those, cosmetic testing is the trickiest, and

dangerous. The reason being is that it needs to be tested on the skin and face. Lastly, drug

testing is different tests to see if it is safe enough for human use.

There are three main tests that all drugs need to pass in order to be tested on

humans. The first is metabolic tests. These are used to see how drugs are absorbed into

the body, what happens inside, and how it is emptied from the body. They use different

methods in order to put it into the body. It can be inserted orally, through an IV (which

goes into the vein), IP injection, or injection through the muscle

(http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Animal_testing). The second test is toxicology tests.

This determines the different levels of the drug, toxic or sub-toxic and whether these

levels rise over time. This is basically to double-check their safety levels and to make

sure they do not worsen with time. The last test is efficacy tests. These tests are to see if

the drugs worked for the disease the drug was made for. The animals being tested are

given the disease and then treated by those drugs. There may be other tests needed,

depending on the drug and category it falls into

(http://www.brighthub.com/science/medical/articles/16238.aspx).

Also, what most people may not know about animal testing is that the animal

differs depending on the category. Much of the testing is usually done on rats or mice.

But after the test to see if it is safe only with rodents, they test another animal as a
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precaution. If the category is neurology, a cat is tested on because the neurological

system of a cat is very similar to the human one. Dogs or pigs are used in cardiovascular

studies, seeing as how they have hearts most similar to humans. Scientists do not just

pick at random what animal they choose. They find the animal that “will most accurately

mimic how the compound will work in a human.” (Blue, L. 2008). This is classified as

applied research. By doing it this way, scientist and researchers have a better

understanding of the disease and also to find out what works best and what doesn’t.

Certain groups against animal testing argue that what may be beneficial for an

animal, such as a rat or a pig, may not be beneficial for humans. This is especially true

with drug testing. A drug named Vioxx which was used for arthritis, “appeared to be safe

and even beneficial to the heart in animals, but caused as many as 140,000 heart attacks

and strokes in the US alone.” (Archibald, K. 2005). This was not the first time medicine

used on animals turned out to be harmful to humans. Another example of the failure of

animal testing is with hormone replacement therapy or HRT. This was used on monkeys,

who benefited from it greatly. It lowered their risk of heart disease and stroke. But when

given to women, it showed the opposite. It actually increased their risk of heart disease

and stroke (Archibald, K. 2005).

The reason why we test on animals is to prevent harm to humans, but it is not

always reliable. Drugs such as Penicillin and the Polio vaccine might not have taken so

long if they were not being tested on animals. The results they had gotten from testing on

animals were misleading. Also many things that are hazardous for humans are healthy for

animals, such as cigarette smoke, arsenic, and asbestos (Archibald, K. 2005). If things

like cigarette smoke can be healthy for animals, what does that mean for humans and
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animal testing? This could mean that the chemicals and medicine being tested on animals

may become obsolete.

Scientists understand that testing on animals may not always be 100% accurate.

They have a few other methods they can use, the first being selective formulation.

Selective formulation is where scientists use ingredients which were already tested before

in order to create new products. This is to prevent testing further. (Barnard, N. 2007).

Another method scientists use is a broad category called human cultures. There are about

four ways human cultures could be used. The first two are Epiderm and EpiSkin and this

is when scientists and researchers obtain the skin cells of humans, and grow them in a

tube. They layer it in a way similar to the structure of human skin. Scientists can use this

method for the testing of cosmetics, instead of testing on live rabbits. The next way, also

uses a tube but uses color to see if a product is hazardous. When eyes are involved,

EpiOcular is the method used. This method also deals with skin cells. The skin cells used

are put together in a thin layer which is very similar to the human eye, the cornea to be

exact. This “has the potential to completely replace the cruel rabbit eye irritancy test.”

(Barnard, N. 2007). Other methods used are cell culture, analytical technology and

computer models.

There are 3 principals scientists must keep in mind when testing on animals called

the three R’s: Reduce, refine, and replace

(http://www.brighthub.com/science/medical/articles/16240.aspx). Scientists and

researchers must reduce the number of animals in an experiment when possible. Also,

refine scientific or experimental methods to lower suffering and pain to greaten the

welfare of the animals. And replace experiment from one that uses animals to one that
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doesn’t whenever possible

(http://www.brighthub.com/science/medical/articles/16240.aspx). In some countries it is

actually illegal to not follow these rules if testing on animals.

Other alternatives used instead of animals are in vitro, and in silico experiments.

“In vitro experiments typically involve the use of cell cultures, while the term in silico

refers to the use of computer models which simulate chemical, molecular, and cellular

interactions.” (http://www.brighthub.com/science/medical/articles/16240.aspx). These are

very limiting though. Both are not as accurate as animal testing. An experiment becomes

more complicated when using these alternatives. For toxicology testing, in vitro and in

silico will not work well. The reason this process is not used often, is because scientists

need to test on a living organism in order to observe the effects of a drug. But there is

something called micro-dosing, which is fairly new. Scientists and researchers hope that

with using this, could lower the need for the use of animals on the testing of

pharmecuticals. Micro-dosing does not use animals, or skin cells. It involves human

volunteers. They receive a miniscule dose of a specific drug, a very low amount which

will not harm them, but high enough to have a desired effect

(http://www.brighthub.com/science/medical/articles/16240.aspx).

Animal testing is a broad and complicated issue with many sides and possible

alternatives. There are different types of testing, categories, and animals being tested on.

There are many reasons why researchers and scientists test on animals. But with each

experiment, the world is learning different ways to experiment without the use of

animals. Much has changed since its origin, but the objective has stayed the same.
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References

Blue, L. (2008, June 17) How much does animal testing tell us? Time. Retrieved from
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1815241,00.html

Archibald, K. (2005) Animal testing: Science or fiction? Global Action Network.

Retrieved from
http://www.gan.ca/lifestyle/animal+testing/articles+on+animal+research/index.en.
html

Callanan, C. (2009, January 28) Tests on trial.Nursing Standard, 23(21), 19-21.

Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database

Barnard, N. (2007, March). animal testing? Vegetarian Times, (348), 19-21. Retrieved
from Academic Search Complete database.

Lloyd, E. (2008, November 23) Animal experimentation: Uses of animals in research.

Retrieved (2010, November 24)
http://www.brighthub.com/science/medical/articles/16237.aspx.

Wordiq.com (2010) Animal testing-Definition.

Retrieved (2010, December 14)
http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Animal_testing