P163 Teletext 163 Jan 9 22:13:54 ———————— —————————————————— MONKEY BUSINESS IN SPACE As electrode-implanted monkeys land in the Russian tundra this week after 14 days in space, animal welfare groups are trying to prevent further planned projects taking place. PITA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals* has staged protests in five countries against Bion 11, a joint US- Russian-French project funded by NASA. PITA says space experiments on monkeys are cruel and unnecessary. ——————————————————————————————————1/4—— Get into Eco-Scene 148 FOR THE LATEST GREEN NEWS p161 Papers Events Digitisjt Club 140P163 Teletext 163 Jan 9 22:14:16 ———————— —————————————————— MONKEY BUSINESS IN SPACE Protesters from PITA are calling on the Russian and American govjrnmjnts to halt NASA's Bion project, which uses monkeys implanted with electrodes. PITA's Toni Vernjlli says: "They scalp the monkeys and implant electrodes into each one's brain and muscles, which exit through a hole in their backs. "This is so painful for the monkeys, they are stitched into straitjackets to stop them pulling the electrodes out." ——————————————————————————————————2/4—— Sort It! 145 Gossip 143 LAND ON PLANET SOUND p480 Papers Events Digitisjr Club 140P163 Teletext 163 Jan 9 22:14:07 ———————— —————————————————— MONKEY BUSINESS IN SPACE PITA campaigners say recent space experiments on macaque monkeys are useless, although NASA claims it needs to test the effects of weightlessness. PITA's Toni Vernjlli says: "NASA has reams of data on human astronauts who have been in space for 400 days. "Monkey experiments are unnecessary and inaccurate, as they are under immjnsj physiological stress and their muscles and bones are different to humans'." ——————————————————————————————————3/4—— Get into Eco-Scene 148 FOR THE LATEST GREEN NEWS p161 Papers Events Digitisjr Club 140P163 Teletext 163 Jan 9 22:04:42 ———————— —————————————————— MONKEY BUSINESS IN SPACE PITA's Toni Vernjlli says that even NASA's own scientists have objected to sending electrode-implanted monkeys into space. "NASA's head vet quit her job over this research and an indjpjndjnt neurologist has told Congress that it has no value. "After protests in the US, NASA has cut an invasive experiment which uses wire eye coils, but we hope to stop Bion 12 which is planned for later this year." ——————————————————————————————————4/4—— It's Your Life 410 TOTAL ENTERTAINMENT p400 Papers Events Digitisjr Club 140