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An overview of PCR (polymerase chain reaction)

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A Nobel prize. One of the highest sophistications that can be given to a scientist working in the fields of physics, chemistry, physiology, or medicine. Marie Curie received one, as well as Albert Einstein and Sir Alexander Fleming, but what does a person have to do to be recognised in such a high manner? Well, transforming the way DNA is analysed could help. Kary B. Mullis received a Nobel prize in 1985 (NobelPrize.org, 2020) for his invention of the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) in 1983 (Mullis, 1990). PCR means that a small sample of DNA can be replicated millions (even billions) of times in just a few hours, which has had provided great success for the scientific industry (Garibyan and Avashia, 2013). You might be asking yourself why is PCR so important but I will get to that soon, first I want to try and give a brief explanation of how PCR works, after all the replication of DNA could seem God-like if you look at it objectively, so I think it warrants a deeper explanation if you...
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Conservation of endangered species

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 Organisations like WWF have a variety of initiatives to prevent endangered species going instinct, from saving their habitat to having captive breeding programmes (WWF, 2018). A problem with captive breeding programmes is that often inbreeding has to be used to conserve species which causes health problems for the offspring and slows the process that the collection is able to be released in the wild because impaired genes cannot be mixed with the general population of the species as it would cause more endangerment (Willoughby et al., 2017). Some people would argue that extinction is a natural process that humans should not involve themselves in, so why are endangered species protected? One reason would be to keep ecosystems in order to protect the environment, but most other reasons are for human benefit such as ecotourism and to dissolve the guilt humans feel for being the main cause of species going extinct due to hunting, climate change and habitat destruction (Mazzotti, 1990)...
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Wildlife rehabilitation

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  Wildlife rehabilitation is a term used to describe the process of reintroducing an animal into the wild after being cared for, usually for being orphaned or injured (Mullineaux   et al. , 2003). Organisations like the RSPCA act under the guidance of British legislation and their own establishment standards to rehabilitate animals so they are able to survive in the wild, most importantly they adhere to the Animal Welfare Act (2006) which states what an animal needs to have a high standard of care (RSPCA, 2018). If an animal is not permanently damaged and is eligible to be physically healthy enough for rerelease then the behavioural rehabilitation can begin, such as providing food around the enclosure, so they are able to forage and can get used to how they would feed in the wild instead of from bowls (British Wildlife Rehabilitation Council, 2018). A study by Molony  et al.  in 2006 studied the effect of 3 different methods of translocation after captivity on Europe...
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Animal testing

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  Over 100 million animals are tested on every year to help make advancements in medicines and treatments, understanding the physiology of animals and humans and testing chemicals before they are released in products (RSPCA, 2018). An example of how this is done would be how the company L’OREAL tests chemicals by exposing them to rat and mice mucous membranes, bare skin and oral ingestion then observe the effects to judge the risk they could cause to humans if put in products; L’OREAL justify this by saying that since the 1960’s, when animal testing became more popular, products have become safer for human use (Nohynek  et al. , 2010). In the U.K. there are limitations to the cruelty animals can be subdued to during testing under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 which states that licences must be acquired to test on animals and describes procedures and humane ways of killing the animals that are allowed (Home Office, 2017). The ethics of animal testing is continual...
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Manufacturing nutrition for animals

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  Food is produced for animals by imitating the nutrition they would receive in nature and the nutrients they are reviewed to need by scientists who research what materials they are able to digest, the minerals and vitamins they require to maintain their health and what is palatable to the animal (Mcdonald   et al ., 2011) For example, having a choice in the food has also been shown in a study reported by the Journal of Veterinary Behaviour (Manteca  et al. , 2008) to have a positive effect on livestock  well being  as they can balance their nutritional needs based on postdigestion feedback so that stress from ingesting excess nutrients is reduced. Another example would be a study by Koppel  et al.  (2014) that tested the palatability of pet food using 5 human panellists to get a more descriptive analysis of the food. If this research was marked by the JADAD scale however, a scoring system for clinical trials (Duke University, 2017), it would only scor...
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Vaccinations

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  The purpose of a vaccine depends of the animal it is given to, if a companion animal receives a vaccine it is generally for its own health, whereas livestock will receive vaccines so they have an increased chance of surviving to make money for the farmer and provide humans with food (Meeusen et al., 2007). For companion animals there are core and non-core vaccines that can be given, examples of core vaccines are canine adenovirus vaccine, rabies virus vaccine and feline parvovirus while examples of non-core vaccines are leptospira vaccine, chlamydia felis vaccine and borrelia vaccine- the difference between these are that core vaccines are essential while non-core vaccines can be given based on the animals’ location or lifestyle (Day, 2017). A variety of diseases can affect UK livestock therefore vaccinations are available for most of them such as bluetongue and leptospirosis and can be administered either routinely, in the case of an emergency outbreak or to also vaccinate surro...
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General anaesthesia for veterinary purposes

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  According to the British Small Animal Veterinary Association Manual of Canine and Feline Anaesthesia and Analgesia, the purpose of anaesthetic is to “Prevent awareness of, and response to, pain” and to “Provide restraint and immobility to the animal”, it is also noted that both should be done with precaution for the animal’s safety (Duke-Novakovski   et al. , 2016). It is common in most veterinary practises that pre-anaesthetic medication will be given 30 minutes before a procedure to sedate and relieve pain from the animal, next an induction agent (the foundation general anaesthesia) is given via an intravenous catheter to knock out the animal so that a tube can be pushed down the trachea that releases oxygen and anaesthetic gas to keep the animal unconscious (Gurney, 2012). Isoflurane is used almost always as general anaesthesia (desflurane can also be used with dogs) and has replaced halothane as the leading anaesthetic agent for over 10 years as isoflurane is deemed safe...
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