research ethics

1. Chapter 2
RESEARCH INVOLVING ANIMALS

2. Learning objectives
• Know basic facts of animal research
• Explain why animal models are used
• Assess whether the 3Rs are moral
Starter:
What do you think when
someone says “animal
testing” or “animal research”
Animal Research and Alternatives

3. Why are animals used?
Researchers aim to understand how our
body functions (physiology) and the
diseases that affect us (pathology).
They must study living systems and the
effect that diseases have on them – this
often involves research that would not
be ethical to carry out on humans, so
animals are used.
Despite the difference in appearance
between humans and animals they
have a very similar biology (they are
anatomically similar). Even mice and
men are around 99% genetically similar.

4. Fish
Rats
Other
Mammals
Mice
Reptiles /
Amphibians
Birds
Which Percentage Applies To Which Animals?

5. Fish
Rats
Other
Mammals
Mice
Reptiles /
Amphibians
Birds

6. Quick Questions:
 Why do we need to use animals for research
and teaching?
 What have people learned from animal
research?
 Are the animals used in research & education
protected and taken care of?
 Does everyone agree with using animals for
research or do some people disagree?

7. Why Do We Need To Use Animals
for Research & Teaching?
 The functions of cells and organs are
basically the same in animals and humans.
 What we learn from animals is useful in
human and animal medicine.
Animal cells function in
many of the same
ways as human cells.
Biologically, humans
are in the Animal
Kingdom.
An animal cell

8. Why Do We Need To Use Animals
for Research & Teaching?
 Animal are used to:
• Understand how
diseases affect living
tissue
• Develop and test
treatments —
including treatments
for animals
• Train future scientists
and health-care
professionals

9. Can Computer Models and Cell
Cultures Replace Animal
Research?
 Non-animal models are very important,
but have limitations. They cannot
duplicate the complicated interactions in a
whole system.
 Final testing depends on studies in living,
whole animals or people.
This is actually required by federal law.

10. Can Results from Animal Studies
Really Be Applied to Humans?
 They CAN and ARE. Virtually all drugs,
devices and medical procedures have been
developed with some animal research.
This dog, Kodi, underwent hip replacement surgery twice.
Hip replacement surgical techniques were tested first on
animals and now help both animals and people.

11. What Have We Learned From
Animal Research?
 Animal research has played a major
role in nearly all medical advances
for both humans and other animals.
 So what animals have helped with
medical advances?
• Let’s look at some specific examples…

12. Animal Use in Biomedical
Research
Polio
 Landsteiner and Popper proved it
infectious; able to transmit
disease to monkeys.
 Salk and Sabin developed their
vaccine through work with
chickens and monkeys.
Polio was one of the most dreaded childhood diseases of the 20th century.
Polio epidemics have crippled thousands of people, mostly young children;
the disease has caused paralysis and death for much of human history.
Developed in the 1950s, polio vaccines are credited with reducing the
global number of polio cases per year from many hundreds of thousands to
around a thousand.

13. Animal Use in Biomedical
Research
 Infant Mortality
• Studies in sheep led to use of steroids in treatment
of respiratory distress syndrome, a major cause of
death in premature infants.
• Advances in understanding and treatment of sudden
infant death syndrome (SIDS) came from studies in
rats, mice, dogs, and sheep.

14. Animal Use in Biomedical
Research
 Cystic Fibrosis
• A major killer of young adults.
• Mouse models led to understanding the
biochemical processes involved in this disorder.
• Genetic therapies on the horizon are an
extension of work in mice.

15. Animal Use in Biomedical
Research
 High Blood Pressure (HBP)
•Goldblatt linked HBP to kidneys in rats, cats, and dogs.
This research led to treatments for high blood pressure.
•Cushing linked HBP to brains in dogs. This research led
to understanding the nervous system’s influence on
blood pressure and development of drugs to treat it.

16. Animal Use in Biomedical
Research
 Obesity
• Major risk factor for diabetes mellitus, high blood
pressure, heart attack, stroke and certain cancers
• Epidemic in the United States: 64% of adults are
overweight and 25% are obese
• Mouse models and Zucker obese rats are shedding
new light on causes of overeating, importance of
leptin receptors, and ways that obesity leads to
disease.

17. Animal Use in Biomedical
Research
 Bioterrorism
• Botulism antitoxin (prevention) was tested in
mice and non-human primates
• The smallpox vaccine was first studied using
cowpox in cattle. In fact, the word “vaccine” is
derived from the word “vaca” which means
cow in Latin.

18.  AIDS
• Current anti-AIDS treatment developed
in animals have greatly extended life
expectancy and quality of life for AIDS
victims.
• AIDS vaccines are being developed in
monkeys.

19. Animal Use in Biomedical
Research
 Stroke
• Stroke kills over 150,000 people in the U.S.
each year and cause major disabilities that
can include paralysis, inability to speak,
loss of vision and loss of cognitive function.
• A new treatment for stroke (and one that
can reverse disability due to stroke), was
first studied in rats.

20. The 3Rs
Refinement – Finding ways of
making animals’ lives better in
labs, this can include toys for
animals or better training for
technicians
Reduction – Using as few animals
as possible to get good results
Replacement – Using non-animal
alternatives wherever they exist
The 3Rs are principles of good science designed by
scientists to improve animal welfare and scientific
accuracy.

21. Alternatives
Scientists use many ways to try to replace animals
used in research. These include using cell cultures,
computer modelling and human studies.
Researchers must, by law, use these techniques if
they would be as effective as using animals.

22. Alternatives
Researchers also try to use the “lowest” type of
animal possible for their experiment – perhaps a fish
instead of a sheep or a fruit fly instead of a mouse.
Why do you think scientists try to replace animal
use? Why use “lower” animals – do you agree with
this idea?
or

23. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzjA2aWZ7CA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8ASyPT-F0g
Watch the following two videos taken inside animal
research facilities and try to identify as many ways
as you can that the 3Rs are being used.
e.g. Refinement: the lab technicians are trained to
handle the animals carefully
How the 3Rs are used

24. Dogs in medical research
• Research into new heart medicines is being
helped by these dogs. The dogs are exercised
daily and trained to work with the
researchers, by jumping onto weighing scales
for example.
• Heart function is measured using ultrasound
scanning, much like the scanning used to see
the developing foetus in a pregnant women.

25. Using mice as a model for Alzheimer's
disease
• Mice can be used to mimic Alzheimer's disease in humans.
Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia
‫مرض‬
‫عقلي‬ .
• Currently there are no effective treatments so mice models
offer one approach to both understanding and developing
treatments for Alzheimer's. Here we see mice digging and
burrowing.
• Alzheimer's disease is not just defined by its symptoms but
by specific proteins that build up in the brain. So, mouse
models also develop these protein build-ups, and scientists
can better study how to stop this from happening.

26. “Good science and good animal care go
hand-in-hand.” –REVISE 3RS
The goal is to get
reliable data and
make sure animals
are healthy and well
cared for.

27. The Three R’s of using animals in
research
 The Three R’s are principles of good
science that scientists must adhere to
when conducting animal-based
research.
First R- Replacement
Using non-animal
alternative wherever they
exist in order that the
only research done using
animals is that which can
be done no other way.
This is synthetic skin.
It can be used in some
research situations.

28.  Second R- Reduction
• Using as few animals as possible to
attain statistically significant results, as
well as finding ways to cut down on the
number of animals used for any specific
piece of research.

29. This is a laboratory animal care technician. Read about him at:
http://www.kids4research.org/teachers_parents/aces_Gary.asp
Watch a short video of a technician at:
http://www.aboutbioscience.org/laboratory_animal_technician.html
 Third R- Refinement
• Improving animal welfare in laboratories
by enhanced lab technician training,
better enrichment inside the cages for
animals, redesign of an experiment, etc.

30. Are lab animals suffering
and in pain?
 Animal use is carefully controlled, particularly if it
might cause pain.
 Laws mandate minimizing pain and distress for lab
animals.
 Good science relies on controlling an animal’s
health and comfort.
 All animal protocols are reviewed and must be
approved by an outside monitoring committee.

31. Disscusion
(1) Give two examples of how the 3Rs are used in
research
(2) In 3 sentences explain why we use animals for
research
(3) If you could make a 4th “R”, what would it be
and why?

32. Now let’s find out what you think.
• What is your opinion about using animals as
models in research?
• You are going to do an assignment in which
you will express your views!