Guinea pig

The guinea pig (Cavia porcellus), also called the cavy or domestic guinea pig, is a species of rodent belonging to the family Caviidae and the genus Cavia. Despite their common name, these animals are not in the pig family, nor are they from Guinea. They originated in the Andes, and earlier studies based on biochemistry and hybridization suggested they are domesticated descendants of a closely related species of cavy such as Cavia aperea, C. fulgida, or C. tschudii and, therefore, do not exist naturally in the wild. Recent studies applying molecular markers, in addition to studying the skull and skeletal morphology of current and mummified animals, revealed that the ancestor is most likely Cavia tschudii.

The domestic 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.

Maurice Henry Pappworth

Maurice Henry Pappworth (9 January 1910 – 12 October 1994) was a pioneering British medical ethicist and tutor, best known for his 1967 book Human Guinea Pigs, which exposed the unethical dimensions of medical research. Born and educated in Liverpool, Pappworth graduated as a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery in 1932 from Liverpool University. After working in a series of junior medical positions, his applications for more senior posts were rejected because of his Jewish parentage. In the Second World War he served in the Royal Army Medical Corps. Having been unsuccessful in achieving a post in any well known London hospital after the war, he set up in London as an independent medical consultant and tutor.

Pappworth's teaching of postgraduate students had a profound effect on the Membership of the Royal College of Physicians (MRCP) examination pass rate, and his contact with junior doctors led him to investigate the ethics of medical research on humans. The publication of Human Guinea Pigs, which examined unethical medical research practices, exposed the subject to a wider audience and led to Pappworth's becoming persona non grata within the medical establishment for much of his career, but ultimately helped lead to stricter codes of practice for human experimentation.

Guinea

Coordinates: 11°N 10°W / 11°N 10°W / 11; -10

Guinea ⁱ/ˈɡɪni/, officially the Republic of Guinea (French: République de Guinée), is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea (French: Guinée française), the modern country is sometimes referred to as Guinea-Conakry in order to distinguish it from other parts of the wider region of the same name, such as Guinea-Bissau and Equatorial Guinea. Guinea has a population of 10.5 million and an area of 245,860 square kilometres (94,927 sq mi).

Guinea is a republic. The president is directly elected by the people and is head of state and head of government. The unicameral Guinean National Assembly is the legislative body of the country, and its members are also directly elected by the people. The judicial branch is led by the Guinea Supreme Court, the highest and final court of appeal in the country.

Guinea is a predominantly Islamic country, with Muslims representing 85 percent of the population. Guinea's people belong to twenty-four ethnic groups. French, the official language of Guinea, is the main language of communication in schools, in government administration, in the media, and among the country's security forces, but more than twenty-four indigenous languages are also spoken.

Pig

A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig and its ancestor, the common Eurasian wild boar (Sus scrofa), along with other species; related creatures outside the genus include the peccary, the babirusa, and the warthog. Pigs, like all suids, are native to the Eurasian and African continents. Juvenile pigs are known as piglets. Pigs are highly social and intelligent animals.

With around 1 billion individuals alive at any time, the domesticated pig is one of the most numerous large mammals on the planet. Pigs are omnivores and can consume a wide range of food, similar to humans. Pigs can harbour a range of parasites and diseases that can be transmitted to humans. Because of the similarities between pigs and humans, pigs are used for human medical research.

Etymology

The Online Etymology Dictionary provides anecdotal evidence as well as linguistic, saying that the term derives

The Online Etymology Dictionary also traces the evolution of sow, the term for a female pig, through various historical languages:

Agent Orange

Agent Orange—or Herbicide Orange (HO)—is one of the herbicides and defoliants used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971. It was a mixture of equal parts of two herbicides, 2,4,5-T and 2,4-D.

During the late 1940s and 1950s, the US and British collaborated on development of herbicides with potential applications in warfare. Some of those products were brought to market as herbicides. The British were the first to employ herbicides and defoliants to destroy the crops, bushes, and trees of communist insurgents in Malaya during the Malayan Emergency. These operations laid the groundwork for the subsequent use of Agent Orange and other defoliant formulations by the US.

In mid-1961, President Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam asked the United States to conduct aerial herbicide spraying in his country. In August of that year, the South Vietnamese Air Force initiated herbicide operations with American help. But Diem's request launched a policy debate in the White House and the State and Defense Departments. However, U.S. officials considered using it, pointing out that the British had already used herbicides and defoliants during the Malayan Emergency in the 1950s. In November 1961, President John F. Kennedy authorized the start of Operation Ranch Hand, the codename for the U.S. Air Force's herbicide program in Vietnam.