We also must not forget that animal-based research has made every one of our modern surgical operations possible and safer for people and animals today. You probably have been told many times that sugar causes tooth decay or that vitamins help your body utilize nutrients from food. Most of what we know about vitamins and nutrition has been learned from animal studies. Even the glasses and contact lenses which many of us are dependent upon for sight were developed through the use of animal models. Today, babies can survive and overcome many birth defects.
Many premature babies pull through even though their bodies are very immature.
They can be saved because of drugs, surgical procedures and management techniques developed first on animals. Biomedical research benefits our children in many other ways. We mustn't think only about past accomplishments. Cardiovascular Disease is the number one natural killer in North America. Alzheimer's disease is a major cause of disability and death among our elderly, and its cause still remains a mystery.