Fish Glow Green After Genetic Engineering

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A genetically engineered fish that glows green from the inside out is helping illuminate what pollutants do inside the body.

Endocrine
disruptors are substances found in a wide range of industrial products,
including plastics, as well as in many female contraceptives.

The
chemicals mimic the actions of sexual hormones, resulting in various
reproductive problems in both people and animals. Previous research has
shown the chemicals cause fish to change gender, and in people, endocrine disruptors have been associated with lower sperm counts and breast and testicular cancers.

Yet
scientists have had difficulty tracking what endocrine disruptors do
inside a person or an animal’s body. So a team genetically engineered
zebrafish to glow in places where an endocrine-disrupting chemical is
present—and thus show where it may be harming the body.

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