geekosystem

Researchers at Japan's National Institute of Genetics believe they've captured a world first video -- images of a thought making it's way through the brain of a zebrafish. It's not a particularly complicated thought -- essentially 'Hey, that looks like it could be food.' -- but the fact that the team has imaged the very stuff of even simple thought for the first time is really kind of amazing -- not unlike magic. Keep reading to see the video of this unprecedented look into the mind of a zebrafish.

Zebrafish are the guinea pigs of the undersea world, used by countless researchers across the world to study neuroscience, genomics, and just about everything in between. Though the fish are well understood, they also have qualities that still flummox researchers. Topping that list is the fishes' inexplicable ability to regrow brain cells. The neat trick -- which is severely limited in humans and other mammals -- may have an unlikely origin, as new research suggests that the regenerative process is jumpstarted by inflammation that can be severely damaging to the brain as well.

Thanks to a pretty well documented and uncomplicated genome, zebrafish are quickly becoming the first choice in genetic engineering models for researchers from a variety of fields. While understanding and tinkering with the DNA of a zebrafish may be easier than it is with other animals, genetic engineering is still a very difficult, time-consuming business. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic, though, have brought that dream closer to fruition, developing a toolkit that makes inserting, activating, and deactivating natural and synthetic genes in the zebrafish genome easier than ever and making it a much more reliable model for human disease.