Happening

Only 2 days into the week but I’m totally shagged out already. The daily activities after lab is taking a huge toll on my stamina especially after spending so much eye power in the lab.

Did rat surgery yday. It wasn’t as scary as it was made to seem previously before we carried out the whole process. The procedure is very much similar to human surgery from catching, anesthetizing, fur shaving, clamping, injecting and lastly stitching of wounds. Throughout the whole process, it actually triggered my thinking regarding the ethical issues on the usage of animals as human models. Although considered as the most appropriate model in human disease studying, there is no doubt that these rats will also undergo some pain and trauma during the experimental process. So it really makes me wonder if humans are really the “SUPERIOR” mammal on earth where we find and sacrifice other animals for the sake of our own benefits. It can also be considered as a noble cause depending on the different viewpoints to the issue. I’m going to stand on a very neutral viewpoint cos there won’t be any breakthroughs w/o the aid of these little rats. Respect and careful handling is what I would ultimately aim for during the course of my project.

Dissection today turned out fine for me. At first, it looks really really bloody and disgusting. But after awhile, I am sort of like immune to that sight which I believe happened to the previous batches of students as well. I think all fears will be erased by the time I’m going to do my own dissection and experiment. Practice makes perfect!