"Weird salamander may yield hope for amputees"

Nice to see they are still doing this research. It's always a mixed feeling with these kinds of research, because many axolotls will suffer for it, but the possible gain for all animals (not only humans) is very large.

Too bad they name it a weird salamander.. with they ability they have they diserve much more credit. And they are cute :p
 
I know this will prompt a HUGE flurry of disagreement from the more scientific-minded forum members but...(deep breath)...I don't agree with this type of thing.

I find animal testing to be horrific, all avenues of it - whilst I think that Barry Horne took things too far (explosives, not the hunger strike, the hunger strike was entirely admirable), I think the man had a valid point -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Horne

Before the avalanche, please be aware - I'm not preaching when I say this - each to their own - everyone is entitled to their own beliefs and values and I have no problem with anyone else's.

Plus, I love you all :kiss: :D

Zoe x
 
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My dad's a biology teacher and a former student of his gave him an axie after doing this kind of research at a university (she didn't want to euthanize it). They cut off some of his toes and attached them on his upper arms, so he looks really strange. It is sad that most of them will be lab reared and probably euthanized after the research is done, but lab animals don't really have good luck like the one that was given to my dad.
 
I personally don´t have a big problem with lab animals being used for research(as long as they are not tortured). I can never justify using wild animals for that purpose, but i think when it comes to CB "tamed" species, there is a compromise between them and us...we feed them and care for them, and they help us. Just like with cattle...i take no pleasure with the dead of a cow...but if it serves the purpose of feeding us, it´s ok with me...mostly because we "created" cows for that purpose.
For me the key word here is compromise. Both species benefit from the arrangement(you may think the cows don´t benefit, but if you think about the "species", it´s doing VERY well).
This is a complicated debate, and i wish i could express myself as i´d like to in english...

I respect and understand the "no experimentation" opinion, i guess i just see it in a more scientific or general way, in which the important thing is the species, not the individual.
 
katebutton said:
They cut off some of his toes and attached them on his upper arms, so he looks really strange.
Click to expand...

That is the meanest thing, and I can't believe that anything but curiousity was fulfilled on that one....Very sad...

-jbherpin-
 
Actually amputation of finger portions is a common practice in biology when it comes to amphibians. I don´t think the animal suffers much...they can regrow the finger quickly...
I consider this kind of practice one of the less agressive ones....just think about how many larvae loose entire extremities even in captivity...and they still do very well ...
 
Keep in mind that in the wild these animals are bitten by insects, fish, mammals, and each other constantly. They have adaptations which help them recover from these wounds quickly. Any amount of field research will quickly convince you of the frequency of injury Ambystomatids experience in their short lives, and for that matter, caudates in general.

Just imagine the physiological overhead it must require to heal quickly...
 
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