FISHinSPACE – Zebrafish Larvae to Study Vertebrate Physiology in Space

The Zebrafish larvae are the ideal model to study vertebrate physiology in space and to transfer the results to humans. In the “FISHinSPACE” project, the GIGA – Université de Liège will send a platform for microscopic observation of such zebrafish larvae into space. The device for automatic observation of individual larvae is a cheap and highly efficient system model for studying an entire living organism in space conditions. The biggest benefits of this model are the optimisation of human life in an extreme environment, and the exploitation of the space environment to research common health issues.

Benefits:

• Zebrafish larvae are highly suitable to study vertebrate physiology under space conditions
• Exploiting the space environment as a proxy for researching common health issues, such as aging, osteoporosis, or blood circulatory problems
• Space flight market will benefit as life in extreme environments becomes easier
• Pharmaceutical industry will benefit from an adaptable platform to develop and test new medicines