Tokyo: First came see-through frogs. Now
Japanese researchers have succeeded in producing goldfish
whose beating hearts can be seen through translucent scales
and skin.
The transparent creatures are part of efforts to
reduce the need for dissections, which have become
increasingly controversial, particularly in schools.
"You can see a live heart and other organs because the
scales and skin have no pigments," said Yutaka Tamaru, an
associate professor in the department of life science at Mie
University.
"You don't have to cut it open. You can see a tiny
brain above the goldfish's black eyes."
The joint team of researchers at Mie University and
Nagoya University in central Japan produced the "ryukin"
goldfish by picking mutant hatchery goldfish with pale skin
and breeding them together.
"Having a pale colour is a disadvantage for goldfish
in an aquarium but it's good to see how organs sit in a body
three-dimensionally," Tamaru told.
The fish are expected to live up to roughly 20 years
and could grow as long as 25 centimetres and weigh more than
two kilograms, much bigger than other fish used in
experiments, such as zebrafish and Japanese medaka, Tamaru
said.
"As this goldfish grows bigger, you can watch its
whole life," he said.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 16:26