Latest Zebrafish Stories
Chemicals in the environment that mimic estrogen can strongly influence the development of humans and other animals. New research to be presented at the 2012 International Zebrafish Development and Genetics Conference, held June 20-24 in Madison, Wisconsin, reveals that these substances may act even earlier than previously realized, at the very beginning stages of embryonic development. Estrogenic compounds in the environment are both naturally occurring, such as in food plants, and...
It's clear where the black-and-white striped zebrafish got its name, but less obvious at first glance is what zebrafish has to do with biomedical research. Amazingly, it has biological similarities to humans, which are making this small freshwater fish an increasingly popular model organism for studying vertebrate development, genetics, physiology, and mechanisms of disease. The variety of presentations at the 2012 International Zebrafish Development and Genetics Conference, held June...
Connie K. Ho for redOrbit.com Apes and humans are thought to be intertwined in evolutionary theory, but how about fish and humans? A new study utilized zebrafish in a study regarding human brain disorders. In particular, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers recently revealed that they took a fresh approach to understanding the roles of genes linked to autism and demonstrated how zebrafish could be utilized in examining the genes that contribute to human brain disorders....
Individuals in some species learn information about food, predators, and potential mates indirectly from conspecifics, without taking unnecessary risks by learning directly for themselves (‘social learning’). Sarah Zala and Dustin Penn from the Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology of the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna investigated whether zebrafish use social learning to assess risk (‘boldness/shyness’ behavior). They found that wild zebrafish, which are more timid than...
A bioinspired robot has provided the first experimental evidence that live zebrafish can be influenced by engineered robots. Results published today, 8 June, in IOP Publishing's journal Bioinspiration and Biomimetics, provide a stepping stone on the path to using autonomous robots in an open environment to monitor and control fish behavior. In the future, water-based robots could potentially contribute to the protection of endangered animals and the control of pest species. The...
Changes to just three genetic letters among billions led to evolution and development of the mammalian motor sensory network, and laid the groundwork for the defining characteristics of the human brain, Yale University researchers report. This networks provides the direct synaptic connections between the multi-layered neocortex in the human brain responsible for emotions, perception, and cognition and the neural centers of the brain that make fine motor skills possible. A description of...
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia researchers shed light on genetic disorders tied to cohesin protein malfunction Researchers studying rare genetic disorders have uncovered insights into those diseases in biological structures that regulate chromosomes when cells divide. Focusing on the cohesin complex, a group of proteins forming a bracelet that encircles chromosome pairs, scientists have discovered mutations that disrupt cohesin, causing a recently recognized class of diseases called...
What can a fish tell us about human brain development? Researchers at Duke University Medical Center transplanted a set of human genes into a zebrafish and then used it to identify genes responsible for head size at birth. Researchers at Duke University Medical Center transplanted a set of human genes into a zebrafish and then used it to identify genes responsible for head size at birth. Head size in human babies is a feature that is related to autism, a condition that recent figures...
Microscopes provide valuable insights in the structure and dynamics of cells, in particular when the latter remain in their natural environment. However, this is very difficult especially for higher organisms. Researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz, and the American National Institutes of Health (NIH) have now developed a new method to visualize cell structures of an eighth of a micrometer in size in living fish larvae. It...
Researchers have developed a new technique which allows them to measure brain activity in large populations of nerve cells at the resolution of individual cells. The technique, reported today in the journal Nature, has been developed in zebrafish to represent a simplified model of how brain regions work together to flexibly control behavior. Our thoughts and actions are the product of large populations of nerve cells, called neurons, working in harmony, often millions at a time. Measuring...
Latest Zebrafish Reference Libraries
The Giant Danio (Devario aequipinnatus) is a tropical fish belonging to the minnow family (Cyprinidae). Originating in Sri Lanka, Nepal, and the West coast of India, it grows to a maximum length of 6 in (15 cm), making it one of the largest of the Danionins. They are characterized by a blue and yellow torpedo shaped body with gray and clear fins. In the wild, Giant Danios live in clear streams and rivers among hills at elevations up to 1000 ft (300 m) above sea level. Their native...
The Zebrafish (Danio rerio) is a tropical fish belonging to the minnow family (Cyprinidae). It is a popular aquarium fish, where it is frequently sold under the trade name Zebra danio, and is also an important model organism. Characteristics The zebrafish arose in the Ganges region in Eastern India and is also native to Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar. It commonly inhabits streams, canals, ditches, ponds and slow-moving to stagnant water bodies, including rice fields. The...
The Glowlight danio is a small fish with a maximum length of 1.25 in (4 cm). Its coloration is brown, yellow, green and red. The Glowlight can live in waters that are (20-25 degrees Celsius), 6 to 7 pH, with a soft to medium hardness and a low to medium salinity. These fish are compatible with other danios and typically live from 1 to 3 years. They are moderately difficult fish to keep, and breeding can be even harder. Danio choprai or the Glowlight danio is a small, schooling fish...
