Imaging fish on the fly
One of the most commonly studied laboratory animals is the zebrafish — a tiny fish with transparent embryos, or larvae, whose internal organs can be easily seen as they develop.Because they are genetically similar to humans and have complex organs, biologists often use zebrafish as a model for human diseases such as cancer, liver disease and heart disease. However, one limitation of zebrafish studies is that it takes several minutes to visually examine each larva. This has kept researchers from using the fish in experiments that require a large number of animals, such as testing the effects of many different drugs. With the aim of speeding up the process and enabling large-scale studies, engineers at MIT have developed a new technique that can analyze larvae in seconds. The researchers, led by Mehmet Fatih Yanik, associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science, describe the new technology in the July 18...