University of California, UC Berkeley Hall of Shame - Stupid Research on Animals

lets DO something about it!!

For the millions of taxpayer dollars spent on maintaining UC Davis Primate Research Center (for Comparative Medicine) found on the border of Yolo/Solano counties, that is money removed from other programs for sustainable permaculture and naturopathic medicines that don't depend on animal research testing results like pharma corporations. The resulting inaccuracies in test results from primates (macaques) cannot be applied to humans without considerable inaccuracies, often resulting in dangerous side effects, death and birth defects in children. That is because humans and primates are not identical and the myth of "comparative" medicine is that it is an equal comparison. Between humans and macaques there are enough physiological dfferences to result in inaccurate test results, though pharma doesn't disclose this important detail..

The Primate Nations: Species differences, page 2
1 September 2006

"There has long been criticism of the application of research on monkey brains for humans. Researchers at the Salk Institute and the University of California wrote: “What is known about the neuroanatomy of the human brain? Do we have a human cortical map corresponding to that for the macaque? And what does the human equivalent of the connectional map look like? The shameful answer is that we do not have such detailed maps because, for obvious reasons, most of the experimental methods used on the macaque brain cannot be used on humans. For other cortical regions, such as the language areas, we cannot use the macaque brain even as a rough guide as it probably lacks comparable regions”(65).

Human brains have a folded cerebral cortex (a gyrencephalic brain) whereas smaller primates, such as the marmoset, have a smooth cerebral cortex (a lissencephalic brain). Not only are there anatomical differences between the two types of brain but evidence suggests that there are functional differences, too(66)."

read on @;
http://www.ad-international.org/mmap/go.php?id=627&ssi=64

Macaques are often illegally poached from their rainforest homes and transported to the research facilities. Poverty and economic instability ofS south American/African people are exploited to the advantage of animal researchers, who reward poachers with cash sums for transport of specimens..

"This does not mean that these animals come cheap. They cost a lot of money and this is reflected in the amount of money pharmaceutical companies pay out to have their poisons tested or university researchers apply for in grants. This is further affected by the fact that there is currently a strong demand for these animals, especially in primates where there has been an acknowledged shortage for some time."

read on @;
http://www.gatewaytohell.net/in_the_labs.html

Notwithstanging the fact that the primate research is cruel and unusual punishment to living, feeling sentient beings that would prefer to live free and unfettered in their rainforest ecosystem, simultaneously playing their role as seed distributers as they migrate through the canopy..

"Macaques
Genus: Macaca
Taxonomy: 20 species, 21 subspecies
Distribution: Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Bhutan, Nepal, Taiwan, Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan, Afganistan, Brunei, Sri Lanka, Gibraltar
Size: Head and body length: 367-764mm Weight: 2.5-17.5kg
Appearance: Short stocky bodies, short fur, coat color varies among species, broad faces, limbs equal length
Habitat: Lowland forest, monsoon forest, dry forest, montane forest, evergreen forest, bamboo, deciduous forest, primary forest, secondary forest, mangrove, swamp, subtropical forest, subalpine forest, broadleaf forest
Diet: Fruit, seeds, leaves, flowers, buds, animal prey, insects, bark, fungi
Locomotion: Quadrupedal, leaping
Behavior: Diurnal, terrestrial and arboreal, complex communications using vocalizations, postures, gestures and facial expressions, groom, strict dominance hierarchies, variable social structure, associate with other monkeys, some are good swimmers."

read on @;
http://investigate.conservation.org/xp/IB/speciesdiversity/classifications/oldworldmonkeys.xml

Primate conservation would certainly appreciate one less force of primate destruction taking primates out of their threatened habitat. Currently clearcut logging by multinational corporations removes habitat of primates, resulting in conflict with human villages over reduced food. Restoration of rainforests to community collectives (selective sustainable logging to benefit villages) and the eviction of multinational logging corporations would end clearcutting erosion and habitat loss. Certain tree species lost to clearcut logging could be replaced by traveling primates over time, though each one depends upon the other for survival, thus the web of life completes itself. When animal research testing of rhesus macaques was banned, they successfully returned from near extinction. Ending testing of all primates would contribute greatly to the restoration of rainforest ecosystems as primates would restore the forest as they migrate..

"Primates are part of healthy forests in the tropics as they contribute to forest regeneration. Since many species of primates eat a diet high in fruits, they are important seed dispersers (Chapman and Onderdonk, 1998). As primates feed on fruit, they spit out or defecate seeds away from the parent tree which gives the seed a higher chance of germination and survival (Chapman and Onderdonk, 1998; Chapman and Peres, 2001). Trees with large seeds may be particularly impacted by the loss of primates as other frugivorous animals such as birds may be unable to disperse their seeds (Chapman and Onderdonk, 1998). In addition to seed-dispersal, primates play other roles in their habitats as predators, prey, and competitors for resources. The loss of primates from their habitats will have serious implications for other species of plants and animals.

For more information about the Conservation Science Institute Primate Initiative (CSIPI) or if you would like to get involved with the program please contact Krista Fish, CSIPI coordinator, Department of Anthropology, Hale Science Building Campus Box 233, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO. 80309"

read on @;
http://www.conservationinstitute.org/primate_conservation/primate_conservation_home.htm

These reasons point to pharma corporations and neighboring biotech corps (Genentech, Chiron, etc..) in Solano County as collaboraters in maintaining the taxpayer subsidized primate research center at UC Davis instead of encouraging less expensive and more eco-friendly sustainable permaculture, naturopathy, etc... The motivation for the pharma/biotech cartel is short term profit from speedy release on their latest merchendise onto the market, claiming documented animal research ensures said product's safety..

What petrochemical/military/industrial corporations are responsible for increasing cancer rates (and other diseases) in human beings in your region? Just about everywhere in the US and other industrialized nations, carcinogens are an everyday fact of life. What can people do to prevent cancer and other human diseases from occurring to begin with? Alter our consumption patterns to include permaculture fruits, vegetables, and non-invasive animal husbandry, learning symbiotic withness, not domination, of our ecosystem. While encouraging healthy living and reduction of human diseases, known medications already in existence don't change much, though aren't incredibly profitable for pharma as are the novel and mostly cosmetic drugs (weight loss, sexual impotence, etc..) that are the bulk of animal research, design and marketing campaigns, while drugs like insulin are easy to make yet overpriced..

For these and many other reasons Yolano Primate Liberation Front pledges to maintain a non-violent campaign to shut down UC Davis Primate Research Facility, and restore location of the nearby Putah Creek ecosystem into a wildlife refuge..

wasn't this discredited last year? like that the lab uses ferrets and hamsters? good reporting there, lou.

1. there needs to be a better dialog on this & both sides need to come forward. these researchers have taken a tremendous moral burden by doing animal research in order to understand on a basic level how the brain works. it does not take a ph.d. to look around you in the city of berkeley and the city of san francisco to see the ravages of untreated addiction, mental illness and infectious disease in our fellow citizens and human beings. there is a strong argument that this sickness (people with soiled underwear muttering to themselves or frost-bitten and broken bodies dying on cold pavement while their fellow people walk by) can be alleviated through social means (education, treatment and rehabilitation, public health and epidemiology). there is another equally strong argument that we have failed as a society to treat mental illness because we do not understand on a fundamental level the way that the brain works. by choosing to work on animals, these people have taken on an incredible moral burden - lets not demonize them for this action alone.


2. it's interesting that the researchers listed here are all neuroscientists, whereas the bulk of live animal research mortality takes place in fields such as immunology, endocrinology and organ transplant biology. why then have they been singled out here? (this is an important question to ask!) they have been singled out because they are doing neuroscience. neuroscience is different somehow, and i'm not 100% sure why. it must be because neuroscience operates on the border between science and spirituality - and spirituality is not somewhere where science really has a place. it's not that people should not be allowed to study or think about neuroscience. everybody is on some level interested in how the mind works. but the line may be drawn at the point where one is willing to put an innocent animal in pain for the sake of this research. if this is the case, then what is at issue is 'why' they are doing neuroscience. if these people seek basic understanding of how the brain works, they fail MISERABLY to explain to the common public why this approach is so important (because _we_ have failed MISERABLY as a society to treat mental illness).