Sunday, October 10, 2010
Nathan Wolfe Video Clip
In Biology on Thursday, we watched a video clip of a speech from Nathan Wolfe, an expert on Viral Pandemics. This video talks about HIV in particular. HIV was passed from animals to people, as were other viruses including rabies, yellow fever, SARS/ebola, and influenza. HIV enterd the human population when primate blood entered human blood. You may ask why a human ever came in contact with human blood. The answer is bushmeat. Many people, the majority in Africa, are so hungry that they go hunting for anything thay can find. It is not uncommon for one of these hunters to come across a primate, and not only does it put these animals in risk of extinction, but this is also how scientists think the HIV transfer from primates to people came about. Nathan Wolfe is responsible for the teams of scientists who track the animals and take blood tests, with the attempt to monotor HIV. By doing so, he has identified new viruses that no one has ever seen before. His main objectives in his research and testing are to 1) prevent new viruses from spreading and 2) have global monitoring of viruses. To me, this sounds like he will be fairly (if not very) successful in his research.
Chimpanzee Article Summary
The chimpanzees of the Alamogordo Primate Facility, who were retired from animal testing over a decade ago, are currently being sent back to the National Institutes of Health for further testing, even though this practice of testing among chimps has been banned in Europe.
There are two sides to this of course. Let's start with the side that's against this action. Bill Richardson is trying to push Congress to legislate that the Primate Research Center in San Antonio be turned into an "official sanctuary managed by non-profit agencies." But unfortunately, the NIH has not taken his proposal into consideration. And Jane Goodall, the #1 world-famous primatologist quotes, "Most of these chimpanzees have already been subjected to years of invasive research. Would it not make more sense to leave these chimpanzees in permanent sanctuary at the Alamogordo facility?" And John Gluck, a professor at the University of New Mexico, said, "These animals have been used to an extensive degree. Is there a sense that we owe them something for that? I think we do."
On the other hand, Harold Watson, NIH programme director for chimpanzee management has a different opinion on this issue. He says, "The Alamogordo chimpanzees will join about 150 others in an environment much like that at at their present facility. They will be allowed to socialize and go outdoors unless specific medical protocols require isolation. This colony has been together for a long time. They'll be temporarily disrupted during the move, but then the original social groups can reform and that's the best way to do it. Most testing will involve little more than a few blood samples, and samples of the liver will be taken using a very thin needle."
In my personal opinion, I would go with the opinion that supports the Chimps' side. Because even listening to Harold Watson, there will still be times when the chimps are isolated. That seems cruel to me.
There are two sides to this of course. Let's start with the side that's against this action. Bill Richardson is trying to push Congress to legislate that the Primate Research Center in San Antonio be turned into an "official sanctuary managed by non-profit agencies." But unfortunately, the NIH has not taken his proposal into consideration. And Jane Goodall, the #1 world-famous primatologist quotes, "Most of these chimpanzees have already been subjected to years of invasive research. Would it not make more sense to leave these chimpanzees in permanent sanctuary at the Alamogordo facility?" And John Gluck, a professor at the University of New Mexico, said, "These animals have been used to an extensive degree. Is there a sense that we owe them something for that? I think we do."
On the other hand, Harold Watson, NIH programme director for chimpanzee management has a different opinion on this issue. He says, "The Alamogordo chimpanzees will join about 150 others in an environment much like that at at their present facility. They will be allowed to socialize and go outdoors unless specific medical protocols require isolation. This colony has been together for a long time. They'll be temporarily disrupted during the move, but then the original social groups can reform and that's the best way to do it. Most testing will involve little more than a few blood samples, and samples of the liver will be taken using a very thin needle."
In my personal opinion, I would go with the opinion that supports the Chimps' side. Because even listening to Harold Watson, there will still be times when the chimps are isolated. That seems cruel to me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)