Rats vs. robots

Posted on February 15, 2008 with No Comments

“WASHINGTON – Lab rats may one day get a reprieve.

The goal is to see if robotic machinery can predict what is toxic as well as animals do.

Scientists today test the hazards of chemicals for the environment mainly by injecting large doses into laboratory animals, mostly rodents. Researchers see if the animals get sick and then analyze their tissue.

Aside from concern about animal welfare, this process is laborious and does not provide fast answers. Moreover, humans typically are exposed to much lower doses of chemicals than are test animals. On the other hand, animal testing does not always predict the disastrous effect that a chemical can have on people. The most notorious example: The birth defect-causing thalidomide, now sold under tight control for cancer.”

We don’t live in a perfect world. Everyday there are several thousand instances where someone is benefiting from the pain of others. The thing to think about would be this, if you can get the same results without testing on the animals than they should work towards that goal. It’s not as if they are dying quickly in a snap trap. I’m sure it is long and painful.

to read more on this article please visit http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080214/ap_on_he_me/toxic_testing;_ylt=AkaAwOhh1EVilJKwWZylE3zq188F