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OK since everyone seemed to like my other posting from Science, here is another

CHICKEN RAISED IN A DISH

Research prizes are all the rage, but a new one is sure to raise eyebrows if not gorges: $1 million for getting "in vitro" (IV) meat onto supermarket shelves. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) announced the money pot last week, acknowledging on its Web site that although it would prefer that consumers stick to vegetables, "many people continue to refuse to kick their meat addictions." IV meat, the thinking goes, would at least save a lot of animals.

So far, a few scientists have been trying to get cells from pigs and other animals to grow in the lab. But big challenges remain, such as finding the optimal culture conditions. Last month, the first international IV meat symposium was held in Norway.

PETA is asking contestants to submit IV chicken samples by June 2012 to its panel of 10 judges; entrants must also be able to mass-produce the meat. Although $1 million is a nice bonus, "the real prize would be the global meat market, which is worth hundreds of billions of dollars annually," assuming consumers are willing to eat the stuff, says Jason Matheny, founder of New Harvest, a nonprofit that promotes substitute meat.

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So, do YOU want to eat meat that comes not from an animal that was raised, slaughtered, and butchered, but from tissue grown in a Petri dish? (Granted, a very large Petri dish, but the same thing, for all practical purposes...)_

One thing for sure.... bet it's tender!