valentine's day

When I walked into the lab on Tuesday (Valentine's day), there was red everywhere, all over the white napkins my boss was working on. She wasn't trying to be festive, though; she was decapitating baby rats, little pink alien-looking creatures, with a pair of orange kitchen scissors. She dug the brains out of their heads, wrapped each one in foil, and put them all in the freezer. She called herself Dr. Death, and I could tell she hated doing it, especially when the rats' headless bodies wiggled all over the place spilling even more blood.

It was a gory scene, but more than disgusting it was beautiful. Scientists are often portrayed as cold and dispassionate in our culture - mad and evil at times, too - but the reality is the opposite. The scientists I've had the pleasure of working with lately are so passionate and caring in everything they do. As my boss cut each of their necks, she told me how much she hated doing it - how much she hated it for the rats - and her gloomy expression evidenced her sincerity. She knew she had to do it, though, so we could "get the real killers," as my old biology teacher says.

I'm 100% for the ethical treatment of animals in the lab, and I know none of those baby rats suffered as they were killed instantly. The good thing is the more advances made in the field of science, the less animals we need. This year, for example, chimps were declared unnecessary for for Hepatitis C research. I'm so thankful for the animals who do die and have died for the sake of research, who help us get the viruses and bacteria and diseases that eat away at the people we love and often times, take them away from us.

Later on that morning a procedure went wrong and we had to euthanize a full-grown rat. We put her in a clear box and turned the Co2 on and watched her run around until she finally just fell asleep, little pink paws up in the air. Today when my mom told me the Hepatitis C was currently undetectable in her blood, that image came back to me along with an overwhelming gratitude for scientists - and animals - who devote so much of themselves to helping others be healthy.

Really, the splatters of blood and frozen brains had nothing to do with Valentine's day. That is, until you think of all the people who might be better off because of that huge mess, until you consider all their loved ones waiting patiently and hopefully on science or God or both. Science isn't glorious to look at until you see the whole picture. Blood shed by animals in the lab is salvation for so many people, even if most don't realize it.