Linking cell-population to whole-fish growth
Every year, more than a million fish are used for toxicity testing and scientific research in the EU alone, and around 400 fish are needed for a single fish early-life stage test. Such toxicity tests are often required by regulatory authorities for new chemical substances, as fish are particularly sensitive to contaminants in water at early developmental stages. However, the increasing use of experimental animals is ethically questionable. In addition, conventional tests are complex, expensive and take weeks or months to complete. Alternative approaches are therefore being sought by scientists, regulators and industry. A promising new method has now been demonstrated by an Eawag study, conducted in collaboration with the ETH, the EPFL and the University of York (UK).