How usefull has animal research been to medical science today?

When a new therapy moves from theoretical to testing the first testing is on animals. Not to be mean but these tests are essential to developing new technologies to save people.. These tests are designed to answer real questions 1. Does the therapy work as proposed 2. are there side effects and to what extent 3. what type of dosing treatment gives the best possibility for success. Folks with incurable diseases have been helped by this testing- including folks that take the nest step to be human rats when something has promise and nothing else works. To those that say use just computer models I respectfully say they just are not adequate enough. Even with the safeguards built in through animal testing there are still unexpected things that crop up in experimental (people) testing just as some people hit the lucky button and get to live as a result. Animals and people are complex biological units and there is always some uncertainty. I've been there.

How usefull has animal research been to medical science today?
Are you familiar with Thalidomide? That was given to pregnant women because animal testing "proved" it was safe.





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http://www.cbc.ca/news/adr/images/thalid...





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Reply:Consider if you had an appendicitis and needed an operation. Would you like to be operated on by a surgeon who had never operated on a live being before?The heart transplant was developed on animals. There are many other reasons that animals are used in research, and they are kind to the animals. I did research on vitamin C. Only man, monkeys and guinea pigs need to take in vitamin C. We found where vitamin C is used on the cellular level.
Reply:Very!
Reply:There is a problem in our understanding if we have to doubt the benefits in the use of animals for medical research. Any drug or procedure tried in animals first does not obviously mean that the same drug or procedure will be safe for human - and this is well known and accepted in the scientific community. On the other hand, it is inconceivable that drug or procedure of any kind is tested on human without prior data in animals showing safety and efficacy of some kind. There may be exceptions. They may be bad science/investigator in some cases. However, the benefits of animal research to medical science is obvious by examining any drug or medical procedure now brought to market. After all this, it is important to continue to find better methods - other than using animals - to better medical science. Some newer solutions may be around the corner but it is unlikely that we will be able to afford complete elimination of animal research in the near future.
Reply:We all know that animals are somehow and somewhat alike to people. Scientists today first examine animals' behavior before they try certain medicines to human. Therefore, animal researches is very helpful to medical studies. Also, remember that astronomers first used of a dog, a monkey, and a cat, and a fish to send in the outer earth. Animals were first used in ancient times as an observable objects for the weather, the climate and others phenomena and sudden change. Thank You. Hope you'll answer mine...I'll wait I'm jhed...
Reply:i think it has been very useful and necessarytesting something on an animal before a human even though I hope animals are being tested on less and less as better ways are developed. I hope also that they treat the animals as best they can before, during and after these tests. Ease their pain. Testing necessary, not unnecessary cruelty.