Gene Related To Autism, Schizophrenia And Obesity Isolated By Zebrafish Study

Fishy research.

What can a fish tell us about human brain development? Researchers at Duke University Medical Center transplanted a set of human genes into a zebrafish and then used it to identify genes responsible for head size at birth.

Researchers at Duke University Medical Center transplanted a set of human genes into a zebrafish and then used it to identify genes responsible for head size at birth.

Head size in human babies is a feature that is related to autism, a condition that recent figures have shown to be more common than previously reported, 1 in 88 children in a March 2012 study. Head size is also a feature of other major neurological disorders, such as schizophrenia.

The more important question is "How do zebrafish survive, what with their autism, schizophrenia and obesity?"