Biomedical research is the pursuit
of answers to medical questions. These investigations lead to
discoveries, which in turn lead to the development of new preventions,
therapies and cures for human and veterinary health. Biomedical
research generally takes two forms: basic science and applied research.
Basic biomedical research is the quest for knowledge about how
organisms and pathogens function. The applicability of these studies to
human health may not always be immediately obvious. For example, one
might question the purpose of determining the precise molecular
structure of the vitamin folic acid. However, it was this type of
investigation that led directly to the synthesis of the first
successful anti-leukemia drugs during the 1950s and 1960s. Used in
combination, these medicines halved the death rate for leukemia, which
had been the second greatest killer of children during the mid-20th
century.
Nearly every drug, vaccine and treatment is based on years of
physiological research, medical knowledge and pharmacological insight.
In the 1920s the Canadian research team Banting and Best discovered a
way to control insulin in diabetics through research with dogs. This
medical breakthrough was made possible by the accumulated knowledge of
chemistry, cell biology, mammalian biology and applied medicine that
had already taken place. For every headline-making medical treatment
the public hears about, there are hundreds of studies that brought
human knowledge to the point where it could be developed.
Living things are extraordinarily complex; we understand only a small
fraction of the interactions, structures, chemicals, and pathways in
the human body. So, the best way to determine the effect of a drug or
disease on an entire living system is by studying it in an animal.
Physicians and researchers overwhelmingly agree that animal models
provide invaluable and irreplaceable insights into human systems
because there are striking similarities between their physiological and
genetic composition. Scientists are required by international law to
conduct animal research before they test new medicines in people.
The biomedical research community is a strong proponent of the "Three
R's": Reduce, Refine, Replace. Scientists themselves, as well as the
oversight bodies that regulate animal research, may not conduct
research on animals when there are appropriate alternatives available,
or when the potential benefit of the research is unclear. However,
animals will continue to play a vital role in research for decades to
come. For example, the successful sequencing of the human genome has
led to an explosion in exciting research involving genetically modified
mice and rats. Scientists can breed animals that express diseases
ranging from Alzheimer's to muscular dystrophy. Then, they can conduct
research with the goal of curing those conditions.