Basic Research has Specific Aims
Some scientists devote their careers to the understanding of the natural world -- that is, they engage in “basic research”. Physicists may want to understand how matter and forces interact and to describe the fundamental laws that govern their interactions. Biomedical scientists may want to understand how is that cells work, how they develop to form entire organisms, how they communicate and defend themselves from disease.
It is the answers to these questions constitutes our understanding of Nature. It is the organization of these answers into theories and mathematical models what provides the driving force behind all technological and medical advances. In other words, “basic science” is really “fundamental science” — it is the science at the heart of human knowledge.
Without basic science, there would be no translational or applied science. There would be nothing to apply; nothing to translate.
As the general public, scientists and our institutions also recognize that not all basic research carries the same ethical baggage. The claim by Dr. Greek that basic biomedical research with animals has no explicit goals, that it is only performed “out of curiosity”, could not be farther for the truth.
The National Institutes of Health and its institutes have charted the way forward in various fields (including neuroscience), identifying specific topics of research that show exceptional promise and offer hope for new breakthroughs. Investigators, guided in part by these research blueprints, submit their proposals to NIH panels that evaluate and rank them according to their significance, merit and promise. This is a process that is highly competitive, where only about 20% of the top proposals have a chance of getting funded. It is a process where scientists have to explain in detail the specific aims of their research, their significance and how the results of the experiments will help move the field forward in some important way. When it comes to basic research using animals, there must be a very good justification for the work, the species and number of animals used. Mere curiosity is not a good justification.
I agree that nobody can “promise” that any particular line of research is guaranteed to yield cures. Such a promise would amount to knowing, ahead of time, the outcome of an experiment. Instead, what is self-evident to most scientists is that without the ability to use animals in some areas of medical research we are guaranteed to fail.
This is a message the public is starting to hear loud and clear from scientists, veterinarians, animal technicians and the leadership at NIH.
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Revelations? I didn't say it's a secret that these three propaganda groups work together. Of course they openly support each other. Duh. The links you gave are the exact same ones I used.
AMP is a propaganda peddler for the pharmaceutical industry. Yes, it is a front group. Common knowledge. Recall in a post on April 10, 2010 at 8:43AM Dario's reply to my comment: "False, I have no connection whatsoever to the pharmaceutical industry."
And your link of the "explanation" of Jentsch's, ahem, research is less than credible because your source is Dario's organization, Speaking of Research. Notice that's why I quoted another expert, Dr. Vernon Coleman, instead of Dr. Greek. But everybody who wants to learn more can read Dr. Greek's books to get a comprehensive view that isn't limited by the constraints of an online forum.
All I gotta say is I wish Dario and Jentsch would properly debate Dr. Greek live. There's no good excuse not to do so--unless, of course, it's just fear of what will be revealed.
Not one original comment from any of you boys. I'm disappointed. Straight out of the vivisector's playbook, Dario. You're more potent than an economy -size bottle of Nytol. At least come up with a new script.
You keep saying you don't get paid by AMP, Speaking of Research, and Pro-Test for Science, U.S. Did I say you were? Nope. Am I saying you're a pitchman peddling their propaganda of faux science ? Yes. You are a co-founder of Pro-Test (U.S.) http://www.pro-test-for-science.org/committee.html and you serve on the committee of Speaking of Research. And these two front groups are allies with the front group AMP. The ringleader over at Pro-Test (U.S.) appears to be the notorious J. David Jentsch, the mad scientist whose idea of legit research is to turn primates into junkies. http://www.all-creatures.org/articles/ar-jentsch (My apologies for the terrifying photo of Jentsch.)
Dario, here's the real issue you keep trying to dodge. Dr. Vernon Coleman can say it better than me:
I have been opposed to vivisection for many years; not just because it is unbelievably barbaric and unforgivably cruel but also because it is worthless, wasteful, inaccurate, uninformative and dangerously misleading.
The cruelty is indefensible and an affront to human dignity, but in a desperate attempt to justify their evil practices many vivisectors still claim that what they do helps save human lives. They are lying. The truth is that animal experiments kill people and animal researchers are responsible for the deaths of thousands of men, women and children every year; they are also directly responsible for a massive amount of human suffering.
The callous self-interest of vivisectors leads directly to the development and marketing of unsafe drugs and medical practices; there is without a shadow of doubt a conspiracy between the medical profession and the drugs industry to defend and protect a practice which has as much relevance to science as alchemy.
A future, more enlightened world will see vivisection as one of the more obscene and inexplicable practices of our age; it is our equivalent of slavery and cruel colonialism and those who fail to condemn it loudly will be branded as being as guilty as the vivisectors themselves by tomorrow's generations.
Animal experiments are done for personal and commercial gain by people who are driven by greed and vanity. But although the vivisectors may be cruel, unthinking and unimaginative they are not entirely without cunning. They realize that their best chance of continuing with their work is to persuade the public that the work they do does have a value. And so they lie. And because they are backed by huge international corporations which are as frightened as they are wealthy, the lies are presented in a convincing and polished way. They terrorize and blackmail ordinary citizens by warning them that if animal experiments are stopped their children will die. It is crude and dishonest but it is often effective.
I would be dead or dying without work done by animal researchers in animals . I have a condition which would have killed me, slowly and painfully, if I had been diagnosed 80 years ago. I still have the condition but with maintenance treatment (identified and tested in dogs !) I can live a long, healthy life. I'm not alone. Research saves lives.
Surely if you were “dying” from a condition, you'd know its name, wouldn't you? I would.
You can now respond with indignation and claim that I'm violating your “ privacy .”
Good heavens, this page is filled with more melodramatic lies than the Bush Administration.
Of course I know the name. I know the name, the symptoms, and the treatment . And because I was interested, I took the next step and looked at how it went from being fatal to treatable. You aren't violating my privacy because I'm not going to let you. I'm not going to post details of my personal health history on the internet . I'm just not. Nor are you entitled to that information.
Calling my decision to keep personal information personal a melodramatic lie? Melodrama at it's worst.
No one is saying what you're implying. Let's skip to the glaring facts. If there were all these "cured" patients, going from "fatal to treatable," Dario Ringach and associates would be posting the verifiable success stories all day long. To bring hope to others who have the illnesses. The lack of verifiable data could fill the Pacific Ocean.
Looks like I wasn't so far wrong with my comment about the teabaggers, all conpiracy theories start to look the same after a while.
Anyway David jJentsch has explained why his work is important http://speakingofresearch.com/2010/01/22/addiction-research-as-an-example-of-translational-biomedical-research /
I also find your "revelations" about the links between Pro-Test, Speaking of Research and AMP quite amusing given that Speaking of Research and Pro-Test for Science are perfectly up front about the relationship
http://speakingofresearch.com/about /
http://speakingofresearch.com/about/founder-biography /
http://speakingofresearch.com/about/committee /
http://www.pro-test-for-science.org /
I guess your definition of "front group" is "any group which doesn't agree with mine".
“When it comes to basic research using animals , there must be a very good justification for the work , the species and number of animals used. Mere curiosity is not a good justification.” – darioringach
It does not take me long at all to be able to find ample evidence to support this statement. I found the following links in about 15 seconds, one for Canada and one for the U.S.:
http://www.research.utoronto.ca/for-researchers-administrators/ethics/animals-in-research /
http://www.research.olemiss.edu/compliance/IACUC/laws_policies_guidelines
It does not take long to find that there provisions for alleviating pain. Here is a listing of the US Regulations and Guidelines Regarding Recognition and Alleviation of Pain in Laboratory Animals:
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=12526&page=159 #
Bamboozle is a word better reserved for application to the AR agenda, which has more false fronts than a Hollywood movie set.
Why not discuss Dario's research ? If Dario has won (loud chuckle) the Nobel Prize, it'd be relevant to this discussion. And it's totally pertinent that we know details about Dario's research. After all, he's advocating vivisection.
http://www.all-creatures.org/saen/ca/res-fr-ca-ucla-grant-ringach-2007.html
Would you want any of this done to you?
What did Dario learn from ramming metal into the eyeballs of primates anyway?
Hint: It's unethical.
http://www.primatefreedom.com/uclaringachlied.shtml
Dario or Pinocchio? Can you trust him?
Vivisection isn't ethical. And it sure isn't science .
Don't forget, folks... Americans for Medical Progress (loud chuckle), Speaking of Research (where Dario serves on its committee, which is why he plugs it at the end of his post here), and Pro-Test for Science, U.S. (co-founded by Dario) are just shabby front groups for the pharmaceutical, animal testing , and lab animal breeding industries.
The propaganda machine chugs along, trying to pick up momentum. Dario scrambles to grease the tracks best he can for the big old gravy train.
Hawkgirl "We, the American public, refuse to be bamboozled"
Now you're really cracking me up, even the teabaggers are more representative of the "American public" than you lot!