The Price of Progress: Are Animals Paying Too Much?

The first known use of animal testing was discovered in ancient Greece, dating back to 500 BC. Human Beings used animals to study the functioning and mechanisms of living organisms.In Today's day and age, animals are being used extensively worldwide for the very same purpose. Imagining the medical industry without animal testing seems unusual and defective, but is that truly the case?

Many medical breakthroughs have been achieved due to animal testing. They have led to the discovery of cures for a number of diseases. Leukaemia, breast cancer, cystic fibrosis and many more chronic illnesses have been battled after research and experiments being conducted on animals. In addition to this, animals do not receive the proper credit for their contribution in the development of pacemakers, anaesthetics and cardiac valve substitutes.  

In the year 2020, when the world struggled to overcome the coronavirus, Indian scientists used monkeys to aid in their development of the perfect vaccine. Other medical centres tested their vaccines on modified mice, to ensure the vaccine didn’t worsen its effect. According to WHO, these vaccines saved the lives of 1.4 million individuals in the pandemic.

But why animals?

Animals are similar to humans in many ways. Chimpanzees share 99% of their DNA with humans whilst mice share 98% of their DNA, making them our long-lost twins. All mammals descend from a common ancestor, which in turn means that our internal organ systems work parallelly to each other. Since our biology is analogous, illnesses behave the same way in mice and monkeys as they do in us.

Furthermore, animals are much easier to test on than human beings. They occupy less space and help scientists reduce costs. Mice live up to only two to three years; their short life span make them the perfect candidates to help study the effect of drugs over generations. In some testing cases, the use of man stands impossible. For example, when checking the toxicity of a certain product, human lives cannot be risked.

The question still stands, is it justified to endanger animals for our own medical development?

Most of the population considers animal testing to be unethical and cruel. In the name of research and development, animals are subjected to high medicine doses, force feeding, involuntary mating, painful medical procedures and more such inhumane practices. 

Even after such tortuous testing, more than 90% of  the drugs that pass these tests fail in human clinical trials. 85 HIC vaccines didn’t work on humans despite their success rates on animals. Moreover, drugs that pass animal testing aren’t completely safe either. It has been observed that animal testing cannot predict the side effects that most drugs have on humans. A recent study found that out of 93 dangerous drug side effects, only 19% could have been foreseen by animal tests. Vioxx, an arthritis drug, had positive effects on mice yet caused more than 27000 heart attacks and cardiac deaths in humans.

However similar our DNA may be, the 2-3% differences in it make our species more advanced and complex. Mice and chimpanzees often don’t react to drugs in the same manner as we would. Vitamin C has been known to cure sepsis in human beings when injected intravenously, but it does not do the same for mice. This makes animal testing not only unreliable, but also unsafe.

On the contrary, animal testing for humans has benefitted animals too. The same methods that have been developed to treat diseases in humans have been known to  improve the lives of many animals. Veterinary medicine has boomed with the help of vaccines and antibiotics that have been  created after undergoing animal testing. This research has also been crucial in preserving endangered animal species. Techniques like ivf, embryo transfer and monitoring sexual behaviours have resulted in breeding and saving animals successfully. 

Ironically, the debate of animal testing remains unsolved. Studies on animals have its benefits but also come with their own set of complications.

The only solution to this issue is finding an alternative to animal testing, that doesn’t put humans at risk and won’t stunt medical progress. In silico research, there is one such method present, that uses computer simulations to study human biology without disturbing organisms. Silico research is a non-invasive, AI based method of research that can predict the effect of drugs on the human race with just a computer. Advancements in AI have resulted in quick, more reliant results.

More substitutes include in vitro culturing of cells. This biological process entails culturing human cells inside test tubes. Scientists have been successful in growing almost every type of human cell in laboratories, which can further be developed into miniature organs. Organs-on-chips have been created to replicate the human body in labs. These can be used not only to research biological processes but also to study the metabolism of a drug.

With advancement in the scientific world,It is obvious that animal testing does not have to be the primary source for medical research.Understandibily, in the past animal testing has facilitated the advancements of drugs and vaccines. Nevertheless, today’s world requires an upgraded tool for science.

In conclusion, animal testing is still needed for research and development but it should be conducted under a strict set of rules and regulations. Alternative methods such as in silico and in vitro research should become the primary way used to conduct medical research for a better and more ethically progressive world.