No guts, no goo as biology class dissects synthetic frog
J.W.
NEW PORT RICHEY When biology students in the lab at J.W. Mitchell High School were at the ready with sharp instruments, preparing to take apart the innards of frogs, a lot the normal reactions were missing.
Students were not squeamishly retracting their hands or holding their noses against the repulsive, throat-grabbing smell of formaldehyde.
That’s because the class was real — but the frogs were fake.
“This shows all the organs, it allows you to dissect an animal that is not toxic, that does not have any odor, plus it does reveal the proper real colors of textures of a regular frog,” Dr. David Danielson said in a Nov. 20 livestream video from the biology lab at the high school in New Port Richey.
Danielson is the vice president of veterinary technology at Tampabased
SynDaver, which develops synthetic human and animal models for education, surgical simulation and medical device testing.
“You’re going to place your frog in the dissecting pan, ventral side up, you’re going to use the scalpel to cut through the frog’s skin so you can see the muscle tissue,” the biology teacher told two glove-wearing students during the demonstration.
According to SynDaver, J.W. Mitchell students have dissected nearly 100 synthetic frogs — so called “SynFrogs” — as part of the new technology that’s expected to catch on at schools around the country.
“We are excited to announce that Mitchell High School is the first in the world to use SynFrogs in science labs,” Pasco County Superintendent of Schools Kurt Browning said in a statement.
“The Pasco County School District is committed to being a leader in innovation and opportunity for students,” he said.
The animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals helped SynDaver fund its research to develop the SynFrog. PETA told the Associated Press that 3 million frogs are killed each year for classroom use.
As the students continued their dissections, Danielson explained that the fake frogs they were cutting into had tissue made of water, fiber and salts that can be reused.
“Now you can see they are going to open the abdomen,” he said as the camera showed a close up of the students gingerly using their knife.
“Try not to cut any organs,” their teacher chimed in. This SynFrog was a female, complete with fake baby frog eggs inside.
At the end of the 30 minute demonstration, all the parts of the dissected frog were splayed out in the dissection pan.
“I can’t even imagine taking a real frog down to the bone, that would be gross,” Danielson said.
The two students featured in the livestreamed dissection called the experience “fantastic” and were smiling, not wincing at the end.
After all, no one croaked.