IR backlight in rodent behavioral testing
How do mice act in complete darkness? Ann-Kristina Fritz and her colleagues ordered a large, round open field with IR backlight, custom made by Noldus, to investigate.
Video tracking makes bird watching much easier
Everyone with children knows the phenomenon that what is good for a child is not always the best for a parent. The same counts for birds.
Ticking clocks – tides and activity peaks in American horseshoe crabs
Recently, I came across an interesting paper in which American horseshoe crabs were video-tracked to investigate their internal clocks.
Time is of the essence in fish studies
You recently moved into your new house. How do you feel? How do you act in this new space? The answers may depend on how long you have lived there…
Social buffering in zebrafish
Shared sorrow is half a sorrow, according to the old proverb. New research indicates that social support is not only important for us humans, but also for zebrafish!
Fish live longer and are more active after eating “young poo”
Have you got the guts for it? Well, I hope you at least have the gut bacteria for it.
Isolated and stressed zebrafish as a model for major depression
Depression: a fifth (!) of us cope with it, making it the most prevalent psychiatric disorder. Prof. Gerlai recently investigated the interaction between mild stress and developmental isolation in zebrafish models.
Dynamic winners and sluggish losers
We all know the phenomenon: some have it all. Look around a classroom and you see immediately who gets all the attention and who doesn’t, who are “winners”, and who are “losers”. Are we born this way, or do we learn it?
Spatial and odor memory impaired mice – new model for Alzheimer’s
Plaques and tangles… those of you even remotely familiar with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) will immediately recognize these hallmarks. But they are linked to familial AD, while sporadic AD is far more common.
How optogenetics is used to study the stress response in zebrafish larvae
Stress might seem like a bad word, but it does have its perks. A recent study by Rodrigo J. De Marco uncovered the role of the pituitary in zebrafish larvae behavior after the onset of stress.