Animals have contributed to science in some amazing ways and they deserve recognition for it. Scientists have relied on animals in a number of different ways - inspiration and for actual scientific discovery. Here are a few animals that need recognition in the science community.
Laika the stray dog: Laika was the first living organism sent to orbit. She was aboard the Soviet Union’s Sputnik II. This proved that living beings could withstand space travel. Unfortunately, Laika did not return. She did go down in history and helped pave the way for future space exploration.
Ham the chimpanzee: Unlike Laika, Ham the chimp traveled to space and was able to return. Sent by the United State, Ham became the first chimp in space and paved the way for humans to travel to space.
Dolly the sheep: Dolly may not need us to make an introduction for her. She has become famous for being the first mammal to be successfully cloned. She made international headlines and went on to produce 6 offspring. Dolly gave hope that one day being able to produce human clones.
Fruit flies: While this many not be an individual animal, we thought it was very important to give these small animals credit. Due to their live hard, die fast lifestyle, they are the perfect candidate for lab life. They have helped scientists make important genetic discoveries. They have been used in lab research for hundreds of years, and their research continues today.
Pavlov’s Dogs: Pavlov’s classical conditioning can be traced to studying his own dogs. These dogs, changed the way we understand learning and behavior. By pairing the arrival of food with a bell, Pavlov learned that he could get the dogs to salivate by presenting a previously meaningless cue. So we will give these dogs the credit, but really we think they just wanted to eat.
Mice: Another one that’s not an individual, but definitely in need of scientific credit. Mice have helped humans discover everything from cures to diseases to the way we learn. They are close enough to humans in genetic material that we have a lot to learn from them.
