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Zebrafish

Danio rerio commonly known as the Zebrafish is a tropical fish belonging to the minnow family (Cyprinidae), commonly kept in aquaria and used for scientific research. Zebra Danios are of no economic importance in commercial fisheries as a food fish, but very commonly known and popular in the aquarium trade. Zebra Danios serve as a common and useful model organism for studies of vertebrate development and gene function because they reproduce very easily, passing from the egg to the larvae stage in less than three days. For genetic research groups, the zebrafish is an excellent test subject and is used in many labs to replace or to supplement higher vertebrate models, such as rats and mice. Danio rerio is one of the few species of fish to have been flown into space. The zebrafish is a special animal to biologists because its body is transparent. Aided by the transparency of the embryo, if researchers modify the fish's genotype at the egg stage they can see resulting changes in organ shape or dynamics barely three days later. The arrival of zebrafish as a major model for studying developmental biology coincided with a large scale mutagenesis screen (commonly referred to as the Tübingen/Boston screens).

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October 27, 2025

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New research shows that hippos lived in central Europe tens of thousands of years longer than previously thought. Ancient DNA and radiocarbon dating confirm they survived in Germany’s Upper Rhine Graben during a milder Ice Age phase. Closely ...
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In the mist-shrouded mountains of New Guinea, a Czech researcher has achieved a world-first — capturing photos, video, and data of the elusive Subalpine Woolly Rat, Mallomys istapantap. Once known only from museum specimens, this giant, shaggy ...
Common dolphins in the North Atlantic are living significantly shorter lives, with female longevity dropping seven years since the 1990s. Researchers found this decline by analyzing stranded dolphins, revealing a 2.4% drop in population growth ...
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EMBL researchers created SDR-seq, a next-generation tool that decodes both DNA and RNA from the same cell. It finally opens access to non-coding regions, where most disease-associated genetic variants lie. By revealing how these variants affect gene ...
Researchers have unearthed South America’s first amber deposits containing ancient insects in an Ecuadorian quarry, offering a rare 112-million-year-old glimpse into life on the supercontinent ...
Coccolithophores, tiny planktonic architects of Earth’s climate, capture carbon, produce oxygen, and leave behind geological records that chronicle our planet’s history. European scientists are uniting to honor them with International ...

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