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A28 SCIENCE
Saturday 4 January 2020

Tania Grgurich, left, clinical associate professor of diagnostic
imaging at Quinnipiac University, sits with Ariana DiPietrantonio,
a senior radiology student, at Quinnipiac University's Center for
Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Friday, Jan. 3, 2020, in
North Haven, Conn.
Associated Press
Tests begin on

bones that may be In this Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019 photo, synthetic frogs from Syndaver Labs sits in a tray during a
biology class at J.W. Mitchell High School in New Port Richey, Fla.
Associated Press
Revolutionary War soldiers Fake frogs in school dissections

NORTH HAVEN, Conn. (AP) of Ridgefield.
— A university laboratory "They're actually laying on eliminate gross-out-factor
began tests Friday on skele- top of each other over-
tal remains found beneath lapped," Bellantoni said.
an 18th century home in If confirmed, Bellantoni said By TAMARA LUSH New Port Richey was, ac- out, Schultz said, and many
the hopes of identifying the that would make them the NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. (AP) cording to PETA and school often did during the dissec-
three people believed to first remains from a Revolu- — It's a rite of passage in officials, the first in the world tion day.
be soldiers killed during the tionary War soldier recov- schools across the U.S.: frog to try out the new technol- "Just let the animal be," Uli-
Revolutionary War. ered in Connecticut. dissection. ogy. The school sits about a barri said. "Why kill them on
In December, while hom- Bellantoni said the medical Sometimes it happens in half hour north of Tampa, purpose to dissect them?"
eowners were renovating examiner quickly suspect- middle school, sometimes where Syndaver's labs are Another student, 17-year-
their house in Ridgefield, ed the bones were very old in high school. Feelings located, and the partner- old senior Nail Koney-Lar-
the remains were discov- because older bones tend about the lesson are gen- ship started not with a frog, yea, said the frogs had a
ered in a grave under the to have less organic matter erally summed up in one but a bunny. startlingly realistic look and
foundation. and start to flake over time. word: gross. The frogs are School Principal Jessica feel to them. They were still
"These bones are so robust, Copper buttons found with slimy and greenish-grey, Schultz had brought her slimy, and a squeeze of the
they're dense, they're thick the remains could indicate and they stink because pet rabbit to a veterinar- leg yields a fragile bone in-
with muscle attachments they belonged to militia- they're pickled in formalde- ian who happened to also side. When kids cut inside
(and) they're long," said men. hyde. work with Syndaver. They the breastbone and stom-
Nick Bellantoni, emeritus While researchers suspect One Florida high school got to talking about frog ach, they were able to see
state archaeologist of the they might be soldiers, they recently tried to eliminate dissection and the com- individual organs. Unlike
Connecticut Museum of don't know if they might be the gross-out factor by us- pany's work with synthetic real frogs, the delicate or-
Natural History. "Who ex- British or American. ing fake, yet highly realis- animals for veterinary stu- gan tissue didn't dissolve
actly they are, we are hop- The bones are being ana- tic, frogs. The school and dents. Eventually, Schultz and explode.
ing the forensic work will lyzed at Quinnipiac Univer- the company that makes brought some of her stu- "If you blindfolded me be-
show." While much remains sity's Center for Medicine, the synthetic frogs — not dents to Syndaver and fore I touched it, I wouldn't
unknown, researchers be- Nursing and Health Sci- to mention animal rights they created lesson plans be able to tell the differ-
lieve the remains belonged ence in North Haven. groups like PETA — hope around the synthetic frogs. ence," said Koney-Laryea,
to men and possibly date Jaime Ullinger, director of this will change how dissec- In late November, her stu- who noted that several
to the Battle of Ridgefield, anthropology at the univer- tions are handled in class- dents dissected the first of students had opted out of
which occurred in April sity, said they are starting to rooms across the country. the fake frogs. They cut the dissecting fetal pigs, frogs,
1777. The way the men conduct X-ray analysis on "The experience is all about skin and extracted the an- and rats in previous class-
were buried in a haphaz- the bones to help examine understanding the rela- atomically correct organs. es due to moral disagree-
ard grave also lends cred- parts of the skeleton that tionship between organs, "Kids went to town, to be ments with cutting open an
ibility to the idea that they have deteriorated over what they look like, what quite honest," said Schultz. animal that was once alive.
were victims of the Battle time.q they feel like," said Chris "We had kids that literally Schultz said no students
Sakezles, the founder and deboned the fake frogs." opted out of the dissection
CEO of Syndaver Labs, a Said Miah Ulibarri, a unit with the fake frog.
Tampa company that also 17-year-old junior: "I was "We have to find ways to
makes synthetic human actually scared to cut it be- engage students with more
cadavers and other life-like cause I kept thinking about interactive lessons and
human and animal body cutting into a real frog." more relevant material,"
parts. "We do that without Ulibarri started the year she said.
the ethical concerns about knowing she'd have to dis- The barrier to widespread
having to kill an animal. sect something for her fo- use of fake frogs could be
Without exposing them to rensic science class, and the cost: Each frog is about
biohazards." she wasn't looking forward $150, and PETA helped
J.W. Mitchell High School in to it. Students could opt fund part of this project.q