Now in our 13th year of bringing you beautiful imagery from biomedical science every day

Search the archive of over 4000 images

A Fishy Cancer Tale
10 May 2013

A Fishy Cancer Tale

You may not think that tropical zebrafish can tell us a lot about testicular cancer in men, but the little creatures are proving a useful ally in the fight against the disease. This striking rosette is made up of chromosomes – long strings of DNA (stained blue) that twist up into neat packages as a cell divides. A protein called LRRC50, coloured green, coats the chromosomes, while their centres are labelled red. But while these chromosomes are taken from a human cell, LRRC50 is also found in zebrafish. Animals with a faulty version of the protein develop the fishy equivalent of testicular cancer, and LRRC50 faults are also found in some men affected by the disease. Although more than nine out of ten patients now survive testicular cancer the treatments are harsh, so studying LRRC50 in fish will help researchers develop kinder future therapies.

Written by Kat Arney

Search The Archive

Submit An Image

Follow on Tumblr

Follow on Instagram

What is BPoD?

BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

Read More

BPoD is also available in Catalan at www.bpod.cat with translations by the University of Valencia.