.

Hanoi University of Science and

Technology
School of Foreign Languages

MARKING SHEET FOR LONGER ESSAYS

Student’s name: Nguyen Thi Tuyen Class: NNA.05-K62

Essay’s title: Animal Experiments: The Boundary of Humanity

Max. MARKING CRITERIA Grade

Score Poor (0-39); Adaquate
(/100) (40-54); Satisfactory
(55-69); Very Good (70-
84); Excellent (85-100)
10 Introduction:
• Well-developed introduction engages the reader and creates interest;
• Introduction clearly states the objectives of the paper.
40 Body:
• relevant and appropriate content;
• Fluent and logical progression of ideas with a clear and well-organized
structure;
• use of existing literatures to support the objectives of the paper;
presenting information collected from a variety of quality electronic and
print sources, including appropriate licensed databases;
• showing the author’s critical perspective in reading and reporting the
works of others, rather than simply a compilation of facts and summaries
of previous studies.
5 Conclusion:
• Effectively wraps up and goes beyond summarizing main ideas;
• Conclusion is logical, discusses the implications of the paper, and
demonstrates independent thought.
5 Format:
• Inclusion of all necessary sections of a longer essay: Cover page, content
page (if there are headings and numbers in the paper), title, introduction,
body, conclusion, and references
• Presentation of essay sections.
• Use of font, size, line spacing, etc. as required (Times New Roman, font
size 12/Arial size 10; double spacing)
• Length of the paper (1,200-1,500 words)
30 Use of English language:
• Paragraphing
• Coherence and cohesion
• Grammatical range and accuracy
• Lexical variety
• Range of sentence structures (simple, compound, complex)
• Spelling and punctuation
10 Citation and referencing (using APA referencing system):
• Observation of citation rules: correctness and consistency (80%)
• Producing a correct reference list (20%)
100
Assessor: (Signature and Full name) Date:
 ANIMAL EXPERIMENTS: THE BOUNDARY OF HUMANITY

Recently, an estimated 115- 127 million animals are used in experimental research

worldwide each year (faunalytics, n.d.), and this figure also emphasizes the importance of

animals in research, especially in medical research. However, that figure is also a trigger to

another opposing viewpoint, which is inhumane treatment of animals because using a bulk of

them is ineffective in testing. Whether the government should forbid animal testing or not is

still a debatable issue. This essay is aimed at answering the question “Should animal testing be

prohibited?” To achieve that end, it is structured as follows. First, some reasons for supporting

animal testing will be discussed including, benefits for both human and animals in life-saving

and treatments, the superiority of animal experiments, and some disadvantages of alternative

methods. Then, the paper will mention some counter-arguments of animal testing.

First of all, animal testing has brought some considerable benefits to human health.

According to The California Biomedical Research Association (2013), nearly every medical

breakthrough in human for more than one hundred years has been the direct achievements of

research on animals For example, thanks to experiments in the dogs which had their pancreas

removed, scientists discovered insulin that has been crucial to save the lives of diabetics

(Felman, 2018). Another case is the vaccine for hepatitis B. As Chris Abee, Director of the

University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center's animal research facility, states “We

wouldn't have a vaccine for hepatitis B without chimpanzees (as cited in Lubbock Avalanche-

Journal, 2013).” It is clear that various remedies or vaccines used today are important medical

revolution and the main key creating of these successes is animal experimental procedures.

Besides, animal research has substantially contributed to understanding and treating conditions

such as breast cancer, brain injury, childhood leukemia, cystic fibrosis, malaria, multiple

sclerosis, tuberculosis, etc (ProCon.org, 2017). In addition, scientists have been using animals

to learn more about health problems, and ensure the safety of new vaccines or drugs so that
they would perform well on the human body. Obviously, the importance of animal in paving

the way for prime turning-points in medicine is undeniable.

Furthermore, the results of animal experiments are greatly beneficial to animals

themselves. In “Zoobiquity: What Animals Can Teach Us about Health and the Science of

Healing” (Horowitz & Bowers, 2012), two authors argued that studying diseases found in both

a human and an animal could save both lives. In fact, more than 80 medicines and vaccines

developed for human are now used to treat animals (California Biomedical Research

Association, n.d.). If scientists did not experiment vaccines or drugs on animals, million

animals would die on account of some diseases such as rabies, distemper, feline leukemia,

infectious hepatitis virus, tetanus (ibid.). Moreover, animal testing has also supported in saving

endangered species from extinction. For instance, Koalas, threatened by an epidemic of

sexually transmitted chlamydia and being on the verge of extinction, are being tested with new

chlamydia vaccines that slow down the rate of infection and treats early stages of the disease

(Beaumont, 2013). Other species consist of the California condor and the tamarins of Brazil

(American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, n.d.), which are specific testaments to

answer the question “Are the advantages of animal testing only for human?”

Owing to animal’s superiorities, a typical feature is the similarity between animals and

human beings, they are made a priority choice as one of the best good research subjects. As a

matter of fact, chimpanzees share 99 percent of their DNA with humans, and mice are 98

percent genetically similar to humans (California Biomedical Research Association, n.d.).

Moreover, all mammals, including human, originated from common ancestors, and all have the

same organs, some of which are heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, etc, which work in the same way

under the bloodstream and nervous system’s control (Understanding Animal Research, n.d.).

Although there are minor differences, the similarities are far outweighed, and these biological

similarities between human and animals explain why animals are susceptible to many of the

same symptoms and illnesses, including heart disease, cancer, and diabetes (Wright, Kazdin, &
Effron, 2012). Also, the correspondences between human and animals are factors deciding that

animal testing is more likely to succeed.

Accompanying many similarities, animals are better research subjects than human

because of their shorter life cycles. As a result, researchers and scientists can study throughout

animal’s lifespan or across several generations (California Biomedical Research Association,

n.d.) that would be infeasible using human subjects. A typical example is mouse, which do not

tend to live past two to three years, even under the best conditions (Dvorsky, 2013). Mouse and

rats have been a standard model for researching cancel, mainly due to their short lifespan and

high incidence of cancer (Science Daily, 2013). In addition, it is easy for scientists to control

the environment around animals (diet, temperature, and lighting) in laboratory in comparison

with carrying out with human.

Thanks to advanced technology and science, a certain number of alternative such as

computer models, tissue, cell cultures, and other non- animal methods are currently applied.

Contrasting to expectation about bringing new progress, these methods have many anxious

limitations. Computer models is considered as a typical example, it depends on the accuracy of

information collected from previous animal research. That means if the former information is

not accurate, computer models will not operate, even give imprecise results. Furthermore, even

the most powerful supercomputers are unable to accurately simulate the workings of complex

organs such as the brain (Watts, 2007). Another example is cell cultures, which do not study

interrelated processes occurring in the central nervous system, endocrine system, and immune

system (California Biomedical Research Association, n.d.). Medical researchers identify that

evaluating side effect of a new vaccine or drug requires circulatory system to carry the

medicine to different organs, which is the biggest barrier of cell cultures (Rogers, 2007). Like

cell cultures, issue cultures method does not function in conditions such as blindness or high

blood pressure (California Biomedical Research Association, n.d.). An explanation for these

drawbacks is the complexity of living systems like human beings or animals, which a decisive
factor in the success or failure of new drugs, vaccines or products. None better than one,

scientists are well aware of the disadvantages of these alternative method, but it is too difficult

to find out the ways minimize them immediately. Therefore, many replaced methods are

infeasible and animal testing has been the most reliable method right now.

There has been criticism that animal testing is cruel and inhumane because of the pain

animals suffer in experimental laboratories. According to a report of The US Department of

Agriculture in 2016, there had been 71,370 animals suffered pain during experiments while

being given no anesthesia for relief, which is extremely merciless for animals. However, that

figure does not reflect whole picture. Indeed, in the experiments, the actions that cause pain to

animals are unavoidable; nevertheless, the benefits of the experiment outweigh the suffering of

the animal and they are received lots of welfare nowadays. Animals in research are protected

by Animal Welfare Act (AWA) from mistreatment. AWA requires standards for animals such

as enclosure size, temperature, access to clean food and water, and others. Correspondingly,

using animals for research must be approved by an Institutional Animal Care and Use

Committee, whose function is reviewing approving animal use protocols. Not only are animals

protected by organizations, but they also are well cared for by researchers or veterinarians, who

directly conduct experiments. According to Nature Genetics (2006), "stressed or crowded

animals produce unreliable research results,…, it is in the best interests of the researchers not

to cut corners or to neglect welfare issues”. Hence, the better conditions of care for animals,

the more reliable test results. At Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's animal research facility, for

example, caretakers spends breaks twice daily for dogs being given exercises as well as

designs “a toy rotation program” for them with aiming at helping the dogs socialize with the

caretakers and other dogs (American for Medical Progress, 2008).

Another viewpoint to be standing on the side of supporting animal experiments

presumes that it is bad science. The reason mentioned is that 94 percent of new vaccines or

drugs failed after entering the first phase of human clinical trials, even though all had been
tested successfully on animals (Understanding Animal Research, 2013). In spite of that 96

percent fail can be significant, the real value is the rest (6 percent). For example, the polio

vaccine, tested on animals, reduced the global occurrence of the disease from 350,000 cases in

1988 to 27 cases in 2016 (World Health Organization, 2019). Currently, with case of leukemia

treatments (a common kind of blood cancer), 8 out of 10 children have this disease survived for

at least five years comparing with 7 out of 10 with the disease died within five years in 25

years ago (Understanding Animal Research, 2011). Additionally, over 100 million of cattle

have been protected from pasteurellosis (a severe respiratory infectious disease affected 1 in 5

cattle) by using a vaccine that has been developed through research on 450 calves (ibid.). A

variety of figures and examples discussed above prove that the percentage of success in animal

experiments is not only number 6 but also the survival of human and other animals.

In conclusion, animal experiments are still a controversial issue. Nowadays, alternative

methods have been existed and are being developed to respond to a few downsides with the

issue of using animals in experiments. However, animal testing is still used popularly and has

played a critical role in research because animal testing is not only about mere treatments or

life-saving cures, but also it has offered a great many hopes for breakthrough, especially

longevity. Therefore, before scientists find out a feasible new method, animal testing is the best

choice recently.

(1643 words)
 References
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