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| What value have animals been in advancing human health ? | |
| Since the middle of the nineteenth century we have seen significant improvements in human health and in our understanding of biology and the processes of disease. As a measure of these advances, it has been estimated that during the twentieth century, the life expectancy of Americans increased by 25 years. These advances have been brought about through a variety of strategies, improved hygiene and nutrition being key players, and experiments using animals have played a significant role. There are numerous examples of where studies involving animals played an important role in scientific and medical advances awarded the Nobel Prize. | |
| Many of the important advances in biological and medical knowledge have been initiated by a chance observation or discovery - to be valid, any ‘new’ idea must stand up to critical scrutiny and rigorous testing. In many instances, this testing will involve experiments on animals or humans, or both. Advances in our knowledge of biology and medicine are brought about through bringing together information from a variety of sources, including data from human and animal experiments, epidemiological studies, ‘in vitro’ experiments (organs, tissues, cellular and molecular) and computer simulations and modelling; both contemporary and historical data may be used. There are many ways in which new information can lead to a ‘medical advance’ -perhaps the chance observation can be the ‘missing link’ which, when combined with existing knowledge, provides new insights or, a new discovery leads to a different approach to a particular question and directs a new avenue of research. The stories of aspirin, insulin and cholera have been selected to illustrate the varying importance of animal experimentation in the advancement of knowledge and medical science. Students should visit the links below to see each “story”.
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