The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks Summary

In The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot mentions animal experimentation. Different kinds of animals are used in many different experiments. Most experiments are used to help humans more than to help animals. Animal experimentation should not happen because most of the time, experiments can lead to animal cruelty. Cloning is one example of an experiment.
The National Human Genome Research Institute wrote an article explaining cloning. Cloning is an interesting topic that does happen to be experimented on animals. It can be artificial and can also be found in the environment. Genes, cells, tissues, and even whole sheep have been cloned artificially. Different plants and single cells things like bacteria clone themselves through ways of splitting apart. This is natural cloning. Identical twins in different mammals, including humans, are clones too. They have similar DNA making them almost the same being.
There is also artificial cloning. This includes gene cloning, reproductive cloning, and therapeutic cloning. Gene cloning is the cloning of genes, or strands of DNA. Reproductive cloning involves cloning full animals. Therapeutic cloning is the producing of stem cell tissues for tests that focus on repairing hurt or sick tissue with the healthy stuff. In 1979 the first identical mice were artificially cloned. After some years or so genetically identical cows, sheep, and chickens are made. In 1966 researchers cloned the first mammal from a somatic cell. The cell was from a six-year-old sheep. After 276 attempts some Scottish scientists finally got Dolly the lamb. Years later some Japanese scientists cloned eight calves but only four of them survived. (“Cloning”) The artificially cloned animals don’t have very long life spans. Usually they live only half as long as the normal animal. Dolly the Lamb lived a shorter lifespan than a normal lamb. It can be cruel to have such a short life. Some places had different views on experimentation. The NIH (national institutes of health) published an article for the general public explaining how they are with animal research. “Both people and animals have unique and important roles as research subjects. Many medical advances that enhance the lives of both humans and animals originate from animal studies.” (NIH) People and animals are unique when it comes to testing. Yet, animals are tested on for human disease. They claim that research involves humans and animals (both being unique subjects). They pick only certain animals for the research. The animal's anatomy, physiology, and genetics must be accurate according to the experiment. They claim to develop not only cures for human diseases, but they claim to help animal in experiments also. They do not go into detail about these experiments. They use animals because they can control living factors easier for animals than humans. (“Animals in research”) Thomson Gale writes in his book, Animal Experimentation, about some experiments. He explains how pregnant rabbits were given drugs like cocaine to study maternal drug usage. He also explains how cats have been shot through the head to test what brain injuries would impair breathing (Thomson Gale). The experiments are extremely cruel and shouldn’t be used for human ailments. Elisabeth Ormandy wrote an article called Genetic engineering of animals: Ethical issues, including welfare concerns. She explains what animals are experimented on. Did you know that genetically engineered animals can be normal house pets? GloFish are one example. They are genetically engineered to be a "glowing" color. They are sold pretty much everywhere but California. California banned the fluorescent fish for ethical reasons. The ethical reasons are unknown. Animal experimentation is leading to things like hypoallergenic cats. They are cats for people who are normally allergic to the felines(Elisabeth Ormandy). Animal experiments have been deemed as unethical in some places. But, some people don’t really know about the experiments. Others don’t support it while some people do. Research can have different views.
forty-three percent of adults don't actually support animal research. The ones that do, truly believe that it's necessary for medical research. Meanwhile, most animal experiments do not contribute to human health. ninety-two percent of drugs that had been tested on animals already did not pass through the 1st phase of human trial. The first phase tests the reaction, effectiveness, and side effects of the drug. Diseases that are planted in animals are never identical to the diseases humans face. It’s very unlikely that the research conducted will even be correctly interpreted and applied to humans. Dr. Richard Klausner the former director of the National Cancer Institute said, "We have cured mice of cancer for decades, and it simply didn't work on humans." Since scientist won't readily admit failure, the public doesn't know about the ineffective tests conducted on animals. (Noel Merino) Animal experimentation can be good or bad depending on how it’s viewed. Scientific research can either be skeptical or
helpful.
Animals shouldn’t be used in human research. They are different beings than humans. This means they are not very helpful to human disease cures or any sort of human-related ailment. The scientists don’t seem to care about the animals. They do all sorts horrible tests on them. Even with cloning there is a drawback. The drawback is the cloned animals don’t live nearly as long as a normal animal. Animal experimentation is morally and ethically wrong.

Gale, Thompson. Animal Experimentation. N.p.: Bonnie Szumski, 2004. Print. At Issue.
National Human Genome Research Institute. “Cloning.” genome.gov. National Institute of Health, 28 Apr. 2014. Web. 15 Dec. 2014. <http://www.genome.gov/25020028>.
National Institutes of Health. “Animals in Research.” NIH. N.p., 18 June 2014. Web. 16 Dec. 2014. <http://www.grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/air/index.htm>.
Ormandy, Elisabeth H., Julie Dale, and Gilly Griffin. “Genetic engineering of animals: Ethical issues, including welfare concerns.” NCBI. N.p., May 2011. Web. 15 Dec. 2014. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3078015/>.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. “Medical Testing on Animals Is Cruel and Unnecessary.” Medical Testing. Ed. Noël Merino. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2014. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from “Animal Experiments: Overview.” 2012. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 16 Dec. 2014.