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From 2012.igem.org

Human Practice

We decided to put on line the various answers we had from the survey. However as some team members requested, those answers are anonymous.

Some of them were in English, others were in French. For the French ones, translations will come during the summer.

First Survey

D/ How do you feel about experimenting on tadpoles?

I haven’t seen the tadpoles yet. So far, I’m exciting of working on tadpoles but it may happen that when I start working at la paillase will feel weird.

I feel really quiet. Because I do believe that all creatures on that earth are of Human responsibility. So if we use them to get better world or health for us or for them, it is quite well for me, especially when the experiments don’t make them suffer.

I never really liked experimenting on animals but I know it is sometimes necessary so I deal with it. The pertinence of the use of animals in medicine makes it more acceptable in society because people see the correlation between the sacrifice of an animal and the improvement of health. Here, we use the tadpoles but not for medical purposes. We don’t sacrifice animal’s life in the direct purpose to save human lives but in the purpose of improving human’s way of life. Indirectly, with biosensors, we may protect humans from dangerous molecules, but the tadpole has become a tool for us. This is that notion of tool that I don’t like but I still see in the end that even if we don’t end up with a working system, our experiments may contribute to the conception of something that might ultimately help protect humans.

Well it is going to be tough. I think I'll more consideration for them when I'll have them in my hand.

On the one hand, we'll be experimenting only on embryos, on what isn't considered as animals, so I just think it's an aggregation of cells; they don’t feel, don’t understand. To be sure they are alive. But I compare them to plants more than to animals.

The thing I am not comfortable with is letting them live until they can possibly feel and kill them afterwards. I find it cruel, because of the moral I have; I do not like the idea of a human being giving or taking a life for some reason that isn’t surviving himself. We do it for knowledge, for a “fun” competition. I’m not sure that these reasons are good enough.

So far everything for me is theoretical, so I don’t feel bad. I guess it’d change when I will see them. Once at university I did manipulations on chicken embryos and I felt really bad about it, especially when other students were playing with their hearts etc. I hope our team is responsible enough to do our project without bringing too much harm and pain for the tadpoles, and no one will treat them as objects or toys.

I think it's interesting but I’ll feel bad when we have to kill them. Seeing the male tadpole sacrifice his testicles (and his life) so we could do some experiments made me feel bad.

I think that is an opportunity.

Comme je l'ai dis plus haut cela ne me pose pas de problèmes vu que les têtards ne sont pas des animaux “attachant”, par contre j'aurais plus de mal à expérimenter sur des grenouilles ou autres animaux dans ce genre.

Experimenting tadpoles employ as employing these creatures for the benefit of mankind is ok, as long as we are not growing them to mature frogs.

Comme si je manipulais des bactéries, ou des rats :) Personnellement ça me poserait problème si on stressait les animaux durant les expériences, mais ce n'est pas le cas (une petite gène lumineuse éventuellement, due à leur nouvelle couleur ...). Après si, il y a peut être les têtard qui vont mourrir par doses trop forte de la molécule à tester. Mais du coût ça ou une mort naturelle ... d'autant qu'il faut prendre en compte les molécules toxiques présentes dans le milieu, personnellement je trouve qu'ils s'en sortiront plutôt bien (après peut-être que je me trompe et que le fait de voir ma tronche induira chez eux un stress chronique les menant dans une profonde dépression ..., en tout cas j'ai pas trouvé d'articles parlant du stress des têtard à la vue des tronches humaines!)

Je pense qu’on va bien rigoler. C’est complètement différent de la bactérie, ici on a un organisme complexe qui réagit à notre présence.

Cool, le problème c'est que des fois on va devoir euthanasier des têtards, nos injections vont créer des mutants, et les têtards auront des problèmes, il faudra aussi les euthanasier.

J'ai eu du mal a le supporter des fois, certains dans le labo ne sont pas capable de le faire. On fera quoi de nos têtards une fois qu ils deviendront adultes? ce sont ces points là qui me dérange.

Again, some discomfort comes from the fact we must kill many of them when they are grown-up (early embryos are less a problem in my opinion, closer to unicellular work). But my deep goal working in BS is to allow mankind to shift it's polluting production to bio-inspired (and engineered) products. I see the tadpole in the future (if the project is sucessful) as new friends, (maybe even pets) for human, allowing them to drink safe water, and treating their frogs with a corresponding care. Thinking of these kind of "symbiosis" makes me feel better about the work we do.