Logo for the Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN). It shows a the letter UDN is different colors that overlap to form the analogous colors.

Today is #RareDiseaseDay & we are celebrating by highlighting the invaluable work of the Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN)! Formed in 2020, it aims to solve the most challenging medical mysteries using advanced technologies. In this thread, we will highlight their use of the #zebrafish model. 1/5 🧪

Novartis settles with Henrietta Lacks' estate over use of her 'stolen' cells to advance medicine Novartis has settled a lawsuit by the estate of Henrietta Lacks that alleged the pharmaceutical giant unjustly profited off her cells, which were taken from her tumor without her knowledge in 1951 and...

Justice sure took a long while…

apnews.com/article/henr...

For those on the job market, University of Toronto 🇨🇦 is hiring a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Zebrafish Models of Genetic and Metabolic Pathologies 🐟 Yes, they want #zebrafish!

🔗 jobs.utoronto.ca/job/Toronto-...

Distinct developmental dynamics of opposing persistent currents shape motoneuron firing during motor maturation of zebrafish Abstract figure legend During the first few days of development, zebrafish acquire the ability to produce increasingly refined movements that rely progressively less on the activity of primary motone....

Reposting Stephanie Gaudreau's new papers into how ion channel changes shape motor maturation in zebrafish without the institutional walls. 1st, the Journal of Physiology paper looking at opposite changes in the M-current and persistent Na current

physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1113/...

The zero-cost mystery: how epaulette sharks may be reproducing for free

New #podcast episode alert! “The zero-cost mystery: how epaulette sharks may be reproducing for free” is now live on Athletes of the Reef. Surprising results from a recent study led by Dr Carolyn Wheeler! #sharkscience #reproduction #conservation
🎧 Listen → open.spotify.com/episode/0V7q...

Slow-mo video of zebrafish mating. Credit to
@zebrafish007.bsky.social. #ZebrafishZunday 🧪

Neurons can communicate via hidden network of nanotubes, study finds Tubes in mouse and human brains may also influence spread of brain disease

Neurons in the mouse brain bypass synapses by communicating with one another via tiny nanotubes. https://scim.ag/4pOH6fL

Each winter, road salt is used as a de-icer and washes into freshwater streams.

Research from the Road Salt Project ( www.theroadsaltproject.com ) has shown that the levels of road salt found in streams can harm developing rainbow trout.

Read more: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Impacts of an anxiolytic drug on fish behaviour and habitat use in a natural landscape #ProcB #OpenAccess #Behaviour #EnvironmentalScience royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

CYP1A1/1A2 enzymes mediate glucose homeostasis and insulin secretion in mice in a sex-specific manner | American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism | American Physiological Society The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor that controls the expression of several downstream targets including xenobiotic metabolism enzymes, cytochrome P450 1A1 and 1A2 (Cyp1a1/1a2). Besides xenobiotic metabolism, AhR also mediates responses to other stressors including high-fat diets (HFDs). Although global deletion or downregulation of AhR protects against metabolic dysfunction in HFD-fed mice, the role of Cyp1a1/1a2 in glucose homeostasis remains unclear. We demonstrated that Cyp1a1 expression is induced in mouse pancreatic islets not only by xenobiotic exposure but also by HFD feeding. Since CYP1A1/1A2 enzymes can produce reactive oxygen intermediates, we hypothesized that chronic CYP1A1/1A2 activation may contribute to HFD-induced metabolic dysfunction in mice, and thus, deleting these enzymes may be protective. We fed 29- to 31-wk-old male and female global Cyp1a1/1a2 knockout (CypKO) and wild-type (CypWT) mice a 45% HFD or standard chow for 14 wk. CypKO females were partially protected from HFD-induced glucose intolerance, and chow-fed CypKO females had lower plasma insulin and suppressed insulin secretion in isolated islets compared with CypWT females. Meanwhile, CypKO males exhibited HFD-induced hyperinsulinemia later than CypWT males. HFD feeding elevated Cyp1a1 and other stress genes in CypWT male islets but not in CypKO islets, indicating that CYP1A1 mediates islet stress responses. Liver pathology, adiposity, and adipose inflammation were primarily affected by diet, not genotype, in both sexes. Our study highlights a novel sex-dependent role for Cyp1a1/1a2 in shaping the systemic metabolic response to HFD feeding, suggesting that CYP1A1/1A2 enzymes are involved in glucose homeostasis, insulin secretion, and islet stress responses. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Cytochrome P450 (CYP)1A1/1A2 enzymes have sex-specific roles in glucose homeostasis in mice. In females, global Cyp1a1/1a2 deletion partially protects from glucose intolerance in high-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice and lowers plasma insulin in chow-fed mice. In males, Cyp1a1/1a2 deletion delays HFD-induced hyperinsulinemia in vivo and inhibits HFD-induced islet stress responses. Genotype-driven differences were only seen in islets, suggesting a novel role for islet CYP1A1/1A2 enzymes in responding to metabolic stress.

I'm thrilled to share the latest paper out from our lab, led by an amazing PhD student, Angela Ching @angelaching.bsky.social! doi.org/10.1152/ajpe...

Congratulations to Dinusha and Lai for their poster prizes at NASCE2025. Well done !

We look forward to NASCE2025 in Québec City.

NASCE2025 Fourwaves - NASCE2025

event.fourwaves.com/nasce2025/pa...

Endocrine Society (@endocrinesociety.bsky.social) We unite, lead, and grow the global endocrine community to accelerate scientific breakthroughs and improve health worldwide. endocrine.org

On behalf of the science and practice of #endocrinology, both in the U.S. and around the world, the endocrinesociety.bsky.social
never stops advocating for you! Take a look at just a fraction of some of the team's current efforts:

#EndoSky

endocrinenews.endocrine.org/may-2025-end...

How do fish evolve to tolerate higher temperatures, and are there trade-offs? We explore these questions in our new paper
@natclimate.nature.com led by Anna Andreassen
@annahandreassen.bsky.social

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
🧪🐟🦑

A new study by Maddison Reed and Michael G. Jonz of @uottawa.bsky.social observes oxygen #chemoreceptor inhibition by #dopamine D2 receptors in isolated zebrafish gills 🐠 🔬

📜 Read the #Research here: physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1113/...

Lab animals deserve enriching environments, but what if our efforts to help unintentionally cause harm? In our ES&T perspective, we explore how leaching plastics and plastic additives may impact fish health, and your experiments...

New paper in @nature.com led by @patricepottier.bsky.social! We demonstrated global vulnerability of amphibians to warming, threatening 10% of >5,000 species examined. How did we do it? See thread🧵

Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Over the moon to finally share our new study in @science.org led by the amazing @jack-brand.bsky.social!

Pharmaceutical pollution at environmentally realistic levels alters behaviour and migration in Atlantic salmon, directly affecting survival

👉 science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Pharmaceutical pollution influences river-to-sea migration in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) Despite the growing threat of pharmaceutical pollution, we lack an understanding of whether and how such pollutants influence animal behavior in the wild. Using laboratory- and field-based experiments...

💊🐟 Antidepressants in rivers affect salmon migration

Clobazam, a common anxiety drug in waterways, accumulates in salmon brains - altering behaviour and boosting river-to-sea migration success.

🔗 doi.org/10.1126/scie...

#SciComm #Pollution 🧪

New work from Vance Trudeau Lab 🐟

🔗 to original research: academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...

The Inside Scoop: Science, Research, & the 2025 Federal Election
Join us for a 30-minute information session to learn about key policy conversations affecting science and research in Canada. With a federal election approaching, it’s more important than ever to understand what’s at stake.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Methylene Blue Is a Widely Used Antifungal Agent That Confounds Behavioral Toxicity Assays in Larval Zebrafish Zebrafish are widely used as model organisms in biological research with embryos typically reared in media supplemented with methylene blue (MB) as an antifungal agent. Many animal care guidelines rec...

pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Methylene blue at recommended concentrations alters metabolism in early zebrafish development - Communications Biology Methylene Blue is an antifungal additive widely used in zebrafish embryo medium. At recommended concentrations, it exerts acute metabolic effects. This represents a previously unappreciated confound i...

www.nature.com/articles/s42...

Recent work from our lab: Niepukolie Nipu shows that methylene blue, at recommended concentrations used in embryo medium, affects metabolism and behaviour in larvae. These findings point to an overlooked confound relevant to larval zebrafish use in (eco)toxicity testing and the zebrafish community.