Slight change in schedule! Today I'll be revealing answers to the #zebrafish quiz and sharing a bit more about my research 🐟👩🏿🔬 Keep sending in your questions!
We'll get back to race in science/medicine on Saturday 👀
We'll get back to race in science/medicine on Saturday 👀
The answer is South (East) Asia! Especially in the Himalayan region. Zebrafish are freshwater fish so they're found in rivers etc, not in the sea! The scientific name for zf is Danio rerio. Danio comes from the Bangla word for "of the rice field" (dhani)
Most of you got this right. Even though the last common ancestor between zebrafish/humans was >400 million years ago, we still share 70% of genes. Evolution is slow! This is great for biologists because we can study genes with human relevance in zebrafish
Again most of you got this right, good job! Almost all fish use their gills for gas-exchange. BUT there are a small number of species that have lungs and can breathe air 😲
This is a microscopy image I took of zebrafish gills: at the top are teeth-like structures called "rakers" (help filter particles from water), and below are pine-needle like "filaments". These create a huge surface area which is essential for gas exchange. 
The answer is....Casper 👻👻👻 Named after friendly ghost of course!
Other mutants include crystal and albino. Zebrafish have three types of pigment cells:
✴️melanophores
⚪ iridophores
🌟xanthophores
Other mutants include crystal and albino. Zebrafish have three types of pigment cells:
✴️melanophores
⚪ iridophores
🌟xanthophores
Final answer is...2-3 days! Zebrafish develop and hatch pretty quickly! And because they develop outside of their mother (ex utero) you can image their development from the moment of fertilisation. Here's a pic of some fish when they're just a few cells 🤯
