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

Blog #8 - Post Mice gentics 6/20

 

My new topic is focused on animal testing and how it benefits the human society, with the focus on mice and chimpanzee in particular. One of the avenues that I decided to go down concerning my topic was how closely mice genetics related to human genetics. I feel as though that it’s very important to understand the complete genetic, mental, and physical comparisons that the specific animals being tested share with humans. When concerning mice, I was able to find out that we as humans share a lot of the same genetic makeup of mice, which allows us to use mice to further research human diseases.

I came across a scholarly source that explains how the genetic makeup of mice is used to help us research human diseases. “The advantages of the mouse for behavioral studies include an extensive array of genetic technologies and an elaborate behavioral repertoire that can be used to create models of human disease.”(The Mouse: Genetics meets Behavior) The article goes into intense detail about the inside structure of a mouse and its behavior phenotypes. The article explains how mice are model organism when concerning animal testing, which is the main reason they are the most tested on. “The mouse is especially important as a model organism for behavioral studies because of the ability to manipulate its genome and to observe the resulting phenotypic consequences using molecular, cellular and electrophysiological approaches.” (The Mouse: Genetics Meets Behavior).

  http://www.nature.com.gate.lib.buffalo.edu/nrg/journal/v3/n2/full/nrg728.html

The article is good grounds for the basis of my research paper and helps me explain why animal testing is indeed beneficial to human society. This article will lead me into a multitude of other topics concerning animal testing such as the actual test being done and how they are done.   

Blog #3 - New Topic 6/6

This is my third blog and I will take this time to talk about my new topic for my research paper, which is about animal testing and how it benefits the human society. Even though I feel strongly in the belief that my topic on equal animal rights for all animals domestic and non-domestic was researchable, the topic may have been to complex as it went down a various amount of avenues.

I will be focusing on the two most common animals that have been and still are being tested on, which are mice and monkeys. I will research why these two animals are the most tested? What similarities do these animals share with humans? What are the different test being done on these animals? How do these test help the human society? How do these test help us figure out more about these animals?

Obviously this is a researchable topic that is very direct and to the point, but it has more than enough statistical information, scholarly sources, and documented events. This topic is a very basic one but it still carries a lot of great information that a lot of people are un a where of. A very informative topic that will help people understand more why animal testing is done and how it's beneficial to the human society.

I though this was a good site that could be a good base to start my research paper. https://www.animalgenetics.us/

Blog #2 6/4 Research topic

This blog is going to concern my research topic as about equal rights for all animals, why non-domestic animals deserve to have the same rights as domestic animals. Let me start by saying that the definition of a research paper is "A research paper is the culmination and final product of an involved process of research, critical thinking, source evaluation, organization, and composition." - (https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/658/02/ ) Let it be known that anything can be research no matter what the topic, this is why we as humans know as much about all the different things and issues in the world as we do, because of the studies and overall research that was done to understand everything. The reasons why topics are broad or may have easy yes or no answers is because of the research that was done before hand.

My topic about equal animal rights for all animals is one that has a mountain full of statistical, factual and currently developing information about the differences and similarities in almost every way when concerning domestic and non-domestic animals. Their emotional and instinctual behavior will be documented, the documented differences between animals living in the wild and the human society and what the results of this our will also be expressed. The animal activist organizations will be imprinted in the research paper as well, the work that some have done and the and the statistical information that represents them. Although very broad as there are lots of animal activist organizations I think it would be a injustice to just focus on one, as the issue is much greater than one organization, or one particular animal.

I believe that a point will be made but a key question will be asked which is the result of all research papers. The idea is to enlighten someone about a particular topic or issue it is up to that person weather or not they wont to except the information. If there is a question or questions at the end then I feel as though I intrigued the reader enough to ask the question or questions.       

Blog #1 Free - The Intro Blog 6/2

   

My name is Joshua Freelove and I'm a student at University at Buffalo. I also play basketball for the university as well as major in History. Just recently I was given an assignment in my English 201 class which asked me to come up with an interesting research topic concerning animals and technology. I was able to embrace the issue of whether or not animals deserve civil rights and if so should it only be assessable for domestic animals or should it be assessable for all animals. The boundaries that we should have between animals and humans is essentially what I will be discussing in my research paper. Also the bias of humans when it comes to animals and what rights they deserve. The mental evolution of humans have led to the different opinions about animals in certain regions of the world. In some regions of the world the less technologically sound ones eat domestic animals, whereas the more technologically advance ones have found other ways to feed, cloth, and supply themselves. A once naturally common act of hunting is now seen as barbaric, primitive and in-human. Now dogs and cats have health plans and humans can go to jail if they poorly treat them. The world has changed concerning this issue weather this is a good thing or not, I will soon find out.