Primates in biomedical research
By Sasha Trieb and Annie Spring
Interesting facts
-Primates have 98% of the Same DNA as humans
-There are 216 different types of monkeys
-Smallest primate is the Pygmy Mouse Lemur, it fits around your finger
-A group of monkeys is called a troop
-Monkeys get seriously threatened by habitat loss, especially those that live in tropical forests
-Famous monkey Koko, has been recorded to have an IQ between 65 and 95
Biomedical research
Scientists have been using Primates in biomedical research for decades. And they have helped a lot. Some causes they have helped in are...
-Alzheimer's
-Polio
-Discovery of the RH factor
-Drug and alcohol abuse
Drug and Alcohol Abuse
Drug and alcohol abuse is a common health problem in today's society. Scientists have been working on valuable treatments for this cause. Primates have been very helpful because they are so similar to humans. They have even able to experiment treatments on them which have helped us a lot in the long run.
Polio
Polio is a very deadly disease that Primates have been very helpful in. They gave the Polio from a young child who had passed away from it and gave it to a monkey, and watched it spread to other monkeys. This sounds very cruel, which it is, but this helped show how it was passed on and eventually scientists came up with a vaccine. Without that vaccine many more people would have died from Polio.
Should research continue?
We believe that biomedical research on Primates should continue because it has done so much good to our society and how we look at science. Sure, they have done cruel things to them in the past, but we think that the research has affected more people in good ways, then Primates in bad ways.