SCRIBBLES

rowlandanthonyimperial

Thursday, January 3, 2008

17:25

Hi. I'm a guinea pig. and you are....?

The Guinea pig (also commonly called the cavy after its scientific name) is a species of rodent belonging to the family Caviidae and the genus Cavia. Despite their common name, these animals are not pigs, nor do they come from Guinea. They are native to the Andes, and while no longer extant in the wild, they are closely related to several species that are commonly found in the grassy plains and plateaus of the region. The guinea pig plays an important role in the folk culture of many indigenous South American groups, especially as a food source, but also in folk medicine and in community religious ceremonies. Since the 1960s, efforts have been made to increase consumption of the animal outside South America.

In Western societies, the guinea pig has enjoyed widespread popularity as a household pet since its introduction by European traders in the 16th century. Their docile nature, their responsiveness to handling and feeding, and the relative ease of caring for them, continue to make the guinea pig a popular pet. Organizations devoted to competitive breeding of guinea pigs have been formed worldwide, and many specialized breeding of guinea pig, with varying coat colors and compositions, are cultivated by breeders.

Guinea pig is also used as a metaphor in English for a subject of experimentation; this usage became common in the first half of the 20th century. Biological experimentation on guinea pigs has been carried out since the 17th century; the animals were frequently used as a model organism in the 19th and 20th centuries, but have since been largely replaced by other rodents such as mice and rats. They are still used in research, primarily as models for human medical conditions such as juvenile diabetes, tuberculosis, scurvy, and pregnancy complications.

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Furthermore, the guinea pig is also widely used to provide tissues and organs for research. Guinea pig blood components are widely used, and isolated organ preparations such as guinea pig lung and intestine are extensively used in research to develop new medicines. Such tissue and organ preparations were important in the discovery and early development of beta blockers to treat high blood pressure and drugs to treat stomach ulcers.

Numerous developments have used guinea pig intestine at some point in their development, for example the anti-nausea drugs used by cancer patients and the identification of naturally occurring pain killing substances known as enkephalins. Guinea pig intestine has also been extensively used to study the 'little brain' in the gut, which contains as many nerve cells as the spinal cord. This has given giving insights into not only the control of the gut itself but also the workings of nerve circuits. The information gathered from these studies is being used to develop computer models.

Today, guinea pigs are used mostly in research and testing to develop new medicines. The whole living animals are used as well as isolated tissues. 27,101 experiments using live guinea pigs took place in the UK in 2004, representing less than 1% of total animal research in the world.

from RDS: Understanding Animal Research in Medicine

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Well, one thing that interests me about these wonderful creatures is that I will be a guinea pig in the next two years of my pre-university education. A human guinea pig.

Contrary to most guinea pigs in laboratories, I was willing to be put under experiment.

Not in medicine, but in school.

On January 7, the first batch of grade 11 students will begin their classes in SJI International, and I can't seem to be able to wait anymore. I'm quite excited actually. There is a strange feeling flowing within me that makes me want to put myself on the line of uncertainty and climb on board the school's maiden voyage to the unfathomable ocean that is the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. I am not saying that the school is composed of mad scientists who kill their lovely, cute, and cuddly guinea pigs with the abhorrent and deadly stench of formalin and slice their bloated tummies with razor-sharp scalpels and pull out their insides with a pair of stainless tweezers. Of course the school won't do such a thing to us; after all, despite the 'international' status of SJII, we are still a LaSallian school. There's this so-called integrity that Brother Michael Broughton always tells us to uphold.

Anyway, since I belong to the pioneer batch of students in this new school, there lies the pressure for us to do our very best to bring SJII one step closer to its goal of becoming a renowned international school in Singapore. It would be a majestic feat for us to get outstanding IB results at the end of a two-year cavalry. Imagine the euphoria everyone's going to have. I would love to get 45 points. For O Levels, no one wants to get 45. Though ironically that's utterly hard to achieve. Everyone would be either raising eyebrows or laughing at you. Everyone wants to get six. But here, getting 45 points is a common dream for IB students.

As a voluntary guinea pig, a guinea pig who willingly put himself on the experimentation table (take note, some even pleaded to get in) of SJII, I truly hope that I would be able to do my very best not only for my own benefit, but also for the school's future apperception to Singaporeans and expatriates alike. I am looking forward very eagerly to studying in SJII. And I hope that the school will be a school where everyone is a member of the community; no outcasts, no bullies. And I hope to form a good bond with my new teachers, and meet new friends that I will cherish for many many years.

After all, guinea pigs have feelings too. They feel fear, they feel pain. They're not just creatures for medical purposes. They have the right to live their own lives too. Right, scientists?