These researchers have been lured, they say, by the research power inherent in fish. These prolific vertebrates are being shown to have a remarkably similar biology to mice, and, as models, fish provide high-quality data. "The objective, always, is to get good statistics and get them rapidly," notes Setlow, "and fish allow you to do that."
Fish models offer several distinct advantages over mice. They produce large numbers of offspring more quickly, and the vast species variety allows for enhanced comparison studies. Also, fish cost less to maintain than do mammals, and they attract less attention from animal-rights activists.
Although acquiring funding is an upstream journey, investigators using transgenic fish for environmental toxicology and biomedical studies have obtained National Institutes of Health grants. "The environmental health aspects to which these model organisms can contribute is huge," says Carvan, who has developed transgenic zebrafish sensitive to pollutants.1
Linney is also developing ...
