Blog #7 Chimpanzees have vaccine for HIV-1 6/18

As I was doing my research I came across this scholarly article written by an author by the name of Jane Bradbury, which was titled HIV-1 DNA Vaccine Shows Promise In Chimpanzees. Bradbury explains that because of extensive genetic testing on chimpanzees that they are very close to coming up with a vaccine that will make chimpanzees immune to the HIV-1 virus. This is really good news for the human society because of how much humans relate to chimpanzees physically, mentally, and genetically. If there can be a vaccine formed for chimpanzees then there may be a chance that there can be a vaccine created for humans. With a disease killing so many humans every year this is a huge breakthrough and it’s all because of the genetic testing of chimpanzees.      

“The researchers injected three chimpanzees with DNA encoding the Env and Rev proteins of HIV-1 strain MN, and the Gag/Pol proteins of HIV-1 strain HXB2. CTL responses against Gag/Pol were observed in two animals, one of which also developed a CTL response against Env. The third animal failed to develop a CTL response, but did develop a strong antibody response. A fourth chimpanzee injected with control DNA not encoding viral proteins did not develop any anti-HIV-1 immune responses.” (Bradbury)    

Bradbury, Jane. "HIV-1 DNA Vaccine Shows Promise In Chimpanzees." Lancet 349.9061 (1997): 1299. Academic Search Complete. Web. 23 June 2014.

Blog #6 Genetics And Anaylisis Quantative Traits 6/16

I was very fortunate to come across a book titled Genetics And Analysis Traits. Even though I didn't read the book in it's entirety, just skimming though the chapters I was able to come across some very valuable information which can be used in my research paper concerning Genetic animal testing and how it benefits the human society.

The book was authored by two writers their names being Michael Lynch and Bruce Walsh. I feel as though in the chapters that I was able to read, the authors highlighted the specific aspects of genetic research testing and its results on the analysis traits of humans and animals. The book I feel goes into great detail about the testing and not so much the benefits of genetic animal testing, but is a good source when explaining how genetic testing can be preformed.  

Although I will probably not use this book I feel as though it was a good source to mention as it pertains to the research that was don concerning my topic, which is genetic animal testing and how it benefits the human society.

Blog #5 The different Benefits of Biomedical/Genetic Animal Testing 6/12

There was a very interesting site that I came across (http://www.aboutanimaltesting.co.uk/biomedical-research-animal-testing.html) which had an article authored by Ian Murnaghan. The article described how biomedical research concerning animal testing has improved the health of humans and medicine. The article goes into great detail about the benefits that the human society have been receiving over the years from the biomedical testing of animals.     

"Biomedical research is one of the most important areas of animal testing and rightly so, given that it is focused on improving human health and medicine. There are different types of biomedical research, which includes basic research and applied research. Basic research is important because it involves the study of how organisms function and develop. The learning associated with basic research is intricately linked to applied, or practical research although it is more academic in nature. Still, applied research is the type of biomedical research that is more actively relevant to medical advances. Therefore, the focus will be to look at how applied biomedical research occurs in terms of animal testing and how it relates to human health." (Murnaghan)

I feel as though this was a great source that expresses the main point of my research topic, which is genetic animal testing and how it benefits the human society. Great achievements have been made because of the genetic testing done on animals and it's time everyone understood this. 

Blog #4 Chimpanzees Gentic Comparisons to Humans 6/10

I was able to find a great site titled the institute for creation research.(http://www.icr.org/article/chimp-similarity-refuting-appeal-human/) which had an article by         Nathaniel T. Jeanson. The article was expressing the genetic relationship between Humans and chimpanzees. It goes through the process in human genetic testing when solely concerning humans relating to one another and then branching out to animal's relationship with humans. the testing resulted in chimpanzees sharing the most similarities to humans.

"Evolutionists appeal to procedures used in human genetic testing to argue for human-chimp relatedness. In the field of human genetic testing, it is common to perform a DNA comparison between individuals in an attempt to establish nearness of kin. The more DNA sequence two individuals have in common, the more closely they are related. To the evolutionist, extending this reasoning to humans and chimps is simply taking the concept one step further. If we compare humans not only to other humans, but also to all the animals in nature, humans seem to share the most DNA sequence with chimps. Hence, to the evolutionist, this result is unequivocal evidence for a close familial relationship between humans and chimpanzees." (Jeanson)

This article will be very beneficial to my research paper about genetic animal testing and how it benefits the human society.

Blog #10 Mice the model organism 6/26

While doing some extensive research on my topic of genetic animal testing, I was able to come across a web link that I feel accurately expresses why mice are considered a model organism to humans. The information comes from The Jackson Laboratory, which the web link is based off of. This allows me to have comfort in the scientific information being presented because of the positive reputation of the Jackson Laboratory. 

For those who don't know the Jackson Laboratory is one of the most prestigious organizations for scientific research testing, specializing in genetic testing, in the world. The accomplishments and milestones that Jackson Laboratory has achieved over the years are overwhelming. http://www.jax.org/milestones/index.html Jackson Laboratory has been a leader in scientific testing as well as findings for years. Over the years the organization has taken a special interest in the genetic testing in mice.

It's stated on the web link multiple times it states "Over 95% of the mouse genome is similar to our own, making mouse genetic research particularly applicable to human disease."(jax.org) This statement basically means that the genetic testing of mice is helping to save human lives, which gives merit to the argument that genetic animal testing is needed as well as beneficial to the human society.

It is also explained that mice are cost-effective as they don't cost much obtain or take care of, that their lifespan is accelerated which speeds the research up. The web link goes into great scientific detail about how the mice are tested and what systems are being used to complete the test. Also what the scientist are looking for and how to find them. A very detailed and informative piece explains how similar a mouse genetic organism makes up is to a human.  

Works Cited

"The Jackson Laboratory." Advantages of the Mouse as a Model Organism -. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 June 2014

Blog #9 - Scholarly post 2 6/24

I want to take some time to discuss a scholarly source that I was able to find and implement in my literature review essay. The scholarly source is an article called the Genomewide Comparison of DNA Sequences between Humans and Chimpanzees and was authored by a multitude of scholars. The article highlights the genetic similarities between humans and chimpanzees by using a test that studies the genetic sequences within both species.

The genetic sequence testing is done by a complex mathematical program called Blat, which can be performed in different methods. The Blat program is a very precise program that gets extremely in depth with the scientific aspects of the similarities of the genetic sequences within chimpanzees and humans. The article expresses the graphs, algebraic math equations, and complex science that plays a big role in presenting the data. The test are done on multiple chimpanzees as well as different humans, because no one is hurt in the process human or animal, a large amount of test are compiled. The blood strains within the DNA of humans and chimpanzees are focused on for the similarities. Also they are tested in various situations to see the different fluctuations and if either DNAs react the same, or how far from similar they are.  

The article also explains that humans and chimpanzees have had the same ancestors for millions of years, which proves that both species have similar traits. The mental and physical similarities between humans and chimpanzees are also mention in the article. This is very important because it gives merit to the genetic sequences being so similar.

This article is being used to explain why certain animals are chosen for genetic animal testing, because of how much they relate to humans. Also it helps express the reason why genetic animal testing is done and how it helps the human society.

 

Works Cited

 Ebersberger, Metzler, Schwarz, Paabo, “Genomewide Comparison of DNA Sequences between Humans and Chimpanzees” 10.1086/340787. 30, Apr 2002