Fremont Firm Wins Mark Twain Award for Creating Virtual Frog to Replace Dissection

PETA Recognizes New Virtual Frog iPad App That Allows Students to Learn Without Harming Animals

For Immediate Release:
July 8, 2010

Contact:
Justin Goodman 757-622-7382

Fremont, Calif. -- For developing the exciting touch-enabled virtual Frog Dissection iPad application as a sophisticated and humane alternative to animal dissection, Fremont-based Emantras Interactive Technologies will receive PETA's Mark Twain Ethical Science Award.

"Millions of frogs, cats, pigs, and other animals suffer and are killed for dissection even though modern non-animal teaching methods for biology have repeatedly proved to be superior," says PETA Vice President of Laboratory Investigations Kathy Guillermo, who notes that the National Science Teachers Association has amended its official position statement to endorse the use of modern non-animal methods as a replacement for animal dissection. "We commend Emantras for helping to replace cruel, archaic animal dissection with humane, 21st century science learning tools."

Thanks to leading e-learning firm Emantras, students now have another way to learn anatomy without harming animals. The Frog Dissection iPad application's touch-enabled navigation allows students to use dissection tools to explore and manipulate a frog's organs in large 3-D imagery. In comparative studies, interactive computer programs have been shown time and again to teach students as well as or better than animal dissection. They are also humane, safe, and economical--Emantras' application can be downloaded for $4.99 on iTunes.

Every year, an estimated 10 million animals are killed for dissection in secondary-school and college science classes. These animals are captured in the wild or obtained from biological supply houses, animal shelters, or factory farms.

PETA's Mark Twain Ethical Science Award recognizes its namesake's staunch opposition to the abuse of animals in experiments. Twain--whom PETA hails as America's first animal advocate--said of animal experimentation, "The pains which it inflicts upon unconsenting animals is the basis of my enmity towards it, and it is to me sufficient justification of the enmity without looking further."

For more information, please visit PETA.org.