You can easily spot their...
... laboratory - queues of snails waiting to get in to take part in the "experiments".
Wonder what the Global Warming angle was to get funding for this ?
In a development whose importance it would be difficult to exaggerate, scientists have produced research answering one of the great questions facing humanity in the 21st century: what happens if you get snails hopped up on crystal meth and poke them with sticks? The drug-pushing scientists in question are Barbara Sorg of …
Wow, really? *Really*? You're really upset that some scientists poked at some snails in a tub of water?
I'm not advocating animal cruelty, but to paraphrase Denis Leary "If hooking up a monkey's brain to a car battery is going to help cure cancer, I've only got one thing to say: The red one's positive and the black one's negative."
The idea that what you discover will always be what you're researching. He thinks science works that way.
Especially amusing when you consider that radiation therapy, which is used to cure some cancers, was made possible because of some guy in Scotland was trying to recreate pretty rainbows on clouds, something even more loony than snails on drugs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Nevis#Observatory
While snails on drugs might be more likely to lead to a cure for Alzheimer's, it's also possible that they're on the path to curing cancer, and not even aware of it.
Excellent point! And that's what hundreds of years of the history of science teaches us (where's James Burke when you need him?!?) that seemingly unrelated research and discoveries lead the to some of the most amazing advances in medicine, technology, physics, etc. They don't test on humans because most people would get REALLY freaked out it. Instead, they test on snails, rats, fruit flies, and other assorted species because only PETA and other wackos (i.e. ALF) get upset about that.
Medical science would not exist except for the decades of animal testing that has contributed to the quality of life we all now enjoy.
To cure cancer, the best way isn't to focus all research on cancer alone. You also research any stupid thing that catches your fancy. Because, historically, that sort of research can and does sometimes lead to major breakthroughs in unrelated fields. What if understanding the mechanism through which meth affects memory could lead to new drugs for Alzheimer's? Still think the poor dudes should have their funding cut?
There are a number of people residing at her majesty's pleasure or on the sex offender's register who would love it if their hardware worked a bit more like pesky molluscan wetware and forgot about those embarrassing files.
The way back machine is not always a good idea.
If you remember the initial work on memory in simple beasties was done on planaria, which are flatworms. We learned that memory is chemical by grinding up learned worms and feeding them to other worms who got them some of that learnin'. Snails are a cut above flatworms in the neural dept (kin to those brainy cephalopods after all) so you can do more sophisticated experiments with them.
Besides they are better behaved than junkies on crystal meth.
Gotta love the people saying not to cut funding for them on behalf of legitimate science. The 'cures' for cancer can be debated however the money made from treating it will always outweigh a cure.
If a price tag could be put on a cure for it what would it be? Who could afford it? Why would corporate America and others want to stop reeling in the reoccurring money made from treatment?
Unless your going to put cancer patients on dangerous narcotics to cure them funding for things like this is retarded.
I drove stoned once as a teenager, I remembered almost every mile of the road. The 5 minute ride seemed to have taken 30. Now does that make me better off or smarter?
No it just means I remembered things stoned.
Trip down to the street corner.
"Scuse me mate, need more of those pills you sold me last time"
Drug Dealer: "Whoa man, you are getting through those like there is no tomorrow"
"Nah, mate, not for me. It is for my snails"
DD: "Snails hey?"
"Yup"
DD: "I think you need to get into rehab! Seriously!"