A British scientist whose pioneering research led to the creation of legions of "knockout" mice that are genetically modified to develop human diseases was awarded a Nobel prize yesterday. By knocking out specific genes, researchers have designed mice that develop a range of medical conditions including cancer, cystic fibrosis and atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. The first "knockout" mice were created in 1989. They have become a standard research tool in labs. Read the full story here.
With this award, our society is further reinforcing the paradigm of exploitation. We continue to believe that humans are the most important species and thus are justified to use and abuse all other species for our own benefit. The argument for this testing on mice is that it gives researches "unprecedented insight into how some of the most debilitating human diseases progress in different tissues and organs over a lifetime, and have proved invaluable in testing new drug therapies." But at what cost? This short-sighted thinking has led us to our current disastrous state of humanity. We know that every action has a consequence.....and the consequences of exploiting other creatures for our own selfish gains WILL come back to us. Karma is a reality and we cannot escape from the negative impact of subjugating and torturing less powerful creatures. We may find new drug therapies that heal certain diseases in the short-term, but in the long-term we are damaging our spirits and souls. That is certainly not a price I am willing to pay.
No comments:
Post a Comment