Perspectivas bioéticas da experimentação in silico: Simulação da resposta imune à malária e alternativas à utilização científica de animais não humanos

Abstract

This thesis analyzes, through the lens of (bio)ethics for all beings, the potential contribution of in silico studies as an ethical alternative to the use of non-human animals in scientific research, with emphasis on investigating the immune response to malaria. The study is structured into six scientific productions that, in an integrated manner, address the ethical, biological, and experimental foundations of the proposal. Methodologically, the research was developed along three axes: literature review, computational simulation, and bioethical reflection. The theoretical results revealed that animal experimentation presents significant methodological limitations and moral conflicts, whereas in silico approaches emerge as more ethical and reproducible practices, aligned with the framework of (bio)ethics for all beings. The philosophical foundation—based on the concepts of [quidditas], totality, interdependence, and secular compassion—demonstrated that science can be guided by an expanded ethics committed to care and the preservation of existence. The practical application of the research resulted in the development of a multi-agent computational model of the erythrocytic phase of malaria, implemented on the AutoSimmune platform. The simulations reproduced patterns consistent with the literature, although still preliminary, confirming the feasibility of in silico experimentation as an ethical, reproducible, and sustainable alternative. The study concludes that the integration between science and ethics is not only possible but necessary, and that (bio)ethics for all beings constitutes a paradigm capable of contributing to scientific knowledge production in a manner more attuned to contemporary bioethical debates.