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Fish usurp mice in cancer research

Researchers claimed yesterday that they had developed an alternative to laboratory mice for testing new medicines -- using fluorescent fish to show the impact of experimental drugs on malignant tumors.

A team headed by Academia Sinica researcher Wu Chin-lieh (吳金冽) transplanted a gene that makes jellyfish fluorescent into the livers of zebra fish. Later, the livers were implanted with cancer cells.

The gene then highlighted the cancerous tissue with a special tint.

This allowed the scientists to monitor the development of tumors in the fish livers and evaluate the impact of various drugs.

Wu said that fluorescent zebra fish can test experimental drugs for cancers in less time and at less cost than conventional laboratory mice.

He said zebra fish had been chosen because the structure and function of their internal organs resemble those of humans, and because their organs react similarly to cancerous tissue.

Wu claimed that his team was the first in the world to use zebra fish in such a way.
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