animal testing

today mim showed me a radiolab podcast that she was super excited about, it was about another potential step in the cure for alzheimers. it was pretty cool; apparently flashing lights at the gamma frequency (around 40 flashes per second, associated with higher-order thought) into the eyes of mice for an hour clears away 50% of the beta amyloid build up (for 24 hrs til it builds up again). this seems to allow them to remember stuff better, or something. I dunno. it sounded pretty straight forwards and with real potential for application. but then in the last minute or so of the podcast they casually mentioned that something like 99.6% of all successful mice studies don't end up translating to human subjects. that made me so angry. I've always had a huge problem with animal testing, but had never heard a figure like that before, which showcases just how senseless all this cruelty is. the amount of mice that are electrocuted, infected with viruses, bred to have specific diseases, made cancerous, etc etc etc. all for a 0.4% applicability to humans. and for them to just mention it in passing like it was barely relevant. I'd be interested to know what that figure is for primates, dogs, all the other animals that get abused like this. it is so absurd, so unconscionable

and here they were excitedly yapping away, like as if the deal was almost done. that includes the head researcher. usually it is the media that hypes small, preliminary findings to sound like grand panaceas, but here was the scientist herself (who also happens to be the director of the institute) implying as much. blegh, makes me sick. I mean...I can understand the joy of a positive result, no matter how initial- science is hard- but that 99.6% figure just sets my teeth on edge. I really hope it's not long til we have reliable medical modelling software, so that we can stop being such goddamned monsters