NASA is stepping up its space radiation studies with a round of experiments that for the first time in decades will use monkeys as subjects.
The point of the experiments is to understand how the harsh radioactive environment of space affects human bodies and behavior and what countermeasures can be developed to make long-duration spaceflight safe for travelers beyond Earth's protective magnetic shield.
For the new study, 18 to 28 squirrel monkeys will be exposed to a low dose of the type of radiation that astronauts traveling to Mars can expect to encounter.
For Bergman's study, squirrel monkeys trained on a variety of behavioral tasks will be tested to see how exposure to radiation impacts performance. The radiation exposures will take place at NASA's Space Radiation Laboratory at the Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York.
Please let them know there are alternative methods and experimenting on animals is barbaric and unacceptable!!
We the undersigned are shocked to learn that NASA will begin conducting radiation experiments on squirrel monkeys.
First mice, now monkeys. Animal testing is an archaic practice, fundamentally flawed and it lacks corporate legitimacy. In today's civilized and technologically advanced society there is no reason nor logic for animals to be obligated and tortured in experiments.
There are SEVERAL viable alternatives used today to conduct research such as: "Synthetic skin," called Corrositex, Computer modeling, Improved statistical design & The Murine Local Lymph Node Assay (LLNA) used in medical facilities like The Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing
http://caat.jhsph.edu/ also check out
http://altweb.jhsph.edu/which includes news, information, and resources on the Internet and beyond [regarding alternatives to animal testing]. There is also Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) http://www.pcrm.org/ Just a few websites designated for educating on alternative methods to animal testing.
Please join us and the rest of the educated and civilized world and stop the archaic practice of animal experimentation!
Thank you.
