Animal Testing Baaad

While animals are perceived differently by different people, whether as family or a way to advance science, the fact remains that animal testing is a way to exploit and harm creatures for company's personal gain.

"Animals have a basic moral right to respectful treatment. . . .This inherent value is not respected when animals are reduced to being mere tools in a scientific experiment,” philosophy professor Tom Regan said.

The testing of animals has been a heated debate in the world for many years now, and while the world sits back and takes sides on the argument, 26 million animals are used every year for scientific and commercial testing.

Animals are similar to people in many ways, such as through their ability to feel, think, behave, and experience pain. Animals and humans have one distinct difference, however, in the way that animals are not treated with the same respect as humans and do not have the ability to say no to hurtful actions being done to them.

Those who are pro animal testing’s main argument is that there is no other way to test the safety of vaccines or drugs without the use of animals, a living organism.

This idea, however, was put aside with the COVID-19 Pandemic. Human volunteers had the option to give consent to doctors to receive the vaccine, and eventually through this human testing, it became a world-wide ability to receive the vaccine for those with the virus.

This demonstration of volunteer human testing demonstrated that researchers can skip animal testing and go straight to observing how vaccines work on humans.

It should also be known that animal tests are not reliable predictors for results in human beings. In fact, 94% of drugs that pass animal testing stages end up failing in human clinical trials.

This is all to say animal testing is not, nor ever will be, a necessity for humans and the world’s development. It is just an inhumane practice many feel the need to keep in order to make themselves feel powerful.

Got Troubles?

AI to the Rescue

Cricket Lindsley

AI truly is becoming a new age superhero. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It’s your friendly neighborhood AI! Here to vacuum your carpets and answer your math problems.

With the world being as technology heavy as it is, there is no surprise that machines have come along to do the tasks that humans just don’t have time to, or the desire to, do anymore.

Do you have chores that need to be done? Have an AI do it for you! Need to have dinner? There’s an AI for that! Need to get your laundry done and send an email to that one classmate who is really particular about timing? Look no further than Artificial Intelligence to wash those clothes and discuss who the lunch thief could be with Brenda.

Artificial Intelligence has come a long way in the past couple years. We have the self-driving, ecofriendly Tesla cars zooming down the highway and pulling turns that put a NASCAR driver to shame.

Cheers and Jeers

Cheers to NDA’s seniors celebrating graduation and beginning their next chapters.

Cheers to the ‘peanut patch’ making advancements to help those who suffer from severe peanut allergies.

Cheers to Mattel for creating a Barbie doll with Down’s syndrome to be more inclusive.

Jeers to the negative political ads already flooding the media. 

Jeers to the longer allergy season caused by climate change, according asthma and allergy Foundation of America.

Jeers to the more than 500,000 yearly deaths of animals due to cosmetic testing, according to Humane Society International.

There’s even a batch of brain cells that have learned to play Pong while connected to a computer. You can play a symphony if you ask ALEXA. Such feats are made possible by tirelessly working scientists who are trying to make the world a more automated place.

One day Artificial Intelligence may even be able to sell itself. Instead of an infomercial with a toochipper human salesman, a robot dressed in a nice suit and impressive mustache will appear on screen to make a pitch.

“Hello, there humans, I am here to sell myself. Being the latest model in my line, my success is guaranteed, thank you.”

The only question left to ask is: What will AI do next?