Articles - Bionomous

Verena Zimermann, zebrafish and the Jazwinska Group

New year, new beginning! That is particularly true for Verena Zimmermann, who retired in December 2024 from her role as a laboratory technician at the Jazwinska Group (University of Fribourg, Switzerland). Verena's career The Jazwinska GroupVerena's retirementReferences Verena's career Before joining the Jazwinska Group, Verena had worked for both companies and academic research institutions on various topics and using different models. She has experience with human blood, beagles, rabbits, Drosophila, and C. elegans. It was with the Jazwinska Group, 14 years ago, that she began working with the zebrafish model.Verena is a…

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30 January 2025

Articles

Single and ready to mingle: zebrafish mating protocols

Zebrafish are social fish, used in research notably for their ability to produce large numbers of offspring. At the end of this month under the sign of love, we are going to present to you the mating process of zebrafish and how laboratories and fish facilities manipulate this natural process to obtain many eggs at the right time. In order to ensure the quantity of eggs needed for the various experiments, it is necessary to understand and have solid knowledge about these mechanisms. Major protocols used are highlighted in this…

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23 February 2024

Articles

Creativity in zebrafish research

In the USA, January is characterized by creativity. In fact, the creativity month celebrates outside-the-box-thinking, the expression of ourselves and the innovations. To match with this idea, we decided to highlight some original uses of zebrafish and related technologies, for which researchers have had to be creative. Some of them are: the use of zebrafish as environmental sensors, as a model to study microbiome-host interactions, as a tool for personalized medicine, on the possible uses of artificial intelligence, and finally, on a double mutant strain called “casper”. Zebrafish as environmental…

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28 January 2024

Articles

Do zebrafish get bored?

November is ending and in this period of late autumn people often have difficulties finding activities to keep them occupied. Rainfall and cold force us to stay at home and without inside activities, we can easily get bored. And what about zebrafish in their tank? Can they also get bored? This article of the month aims to highlight the importance and impacts of enrichment in fish tanks on zebrafish boredom, anxiety and cognition. Enrichments are also part of the 3R’s (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement) principles. 3R's principles Natural environment of…

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27 November 2023

Articles

Fluorescent zebrafish and the detection of transgenic lines by the EggSorter

Halloween is just around the corner and zebrafish are in a spooky mood too! Did you know that fish can be fluorescent? Researchers are using fluorescent zebrafish to study a wide range of development mechanisms and pathways. This article explains how fluorescent zebrafish are obtained and how fluorescence can be detected. It also highlights the areas of use and important discoveries made possible by this technology. Finally, the article also explains how the EggSorter can be adapted to detect fluorescence. Zebrafish transgenic lines Fluorescence detection in the EggSorter Conclusion References…

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31 October 2023

Articles

Zebrafish to study the effects and impacts of alcohol

Alcohol and alcoholism represents a major concern for public health. Each year, more than 3 million deaths are caused by excessive alcohol consumption (1). Drinking has become a regular part of going out with friends and family. Drinking alcohol not only influences the behaviour of consumers, but also their metabolism, and it is not without any effect on the organism. In order to gain a better understanding of the metabolism and effects of alcohol, numerous studies are being carried out on model organisms. This article presents the effects of alcohol…

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25 September 2023

Articles

Automating the sorting of Xenopus oocytes and embryos

Xenopus laevis is the scientific name of the African clawed frog. This species is native from southern Africa and inhabits slow moving water or stagnant ponds. Its facility to adapt to different environments and conditions makes it considered as an invasive species in Europe, North America and South America (1). The consequence of its invasiveness is a decrease in the local biodiversity because of the competition with local amphibians and the fact that it eats local fishes and invertebrates (1). On the other hand, X.laevis is a very good model organism…

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29 August 2023

Articles

Virtual reality to study the zebrafish brain

Virtual reality games are becoming increasingly popular. They allow users to fully immerse themselves in another, virtual world. Did you know that virtual reality systems are also used in research ? It is the case in the study of the brain and its mechanisms. This article is going to explain how it is possible to track neuronal activities in fish brains, using virtual reality. Studies with zebrafish where virtual reality is involved The method Conclusion References Studies with zebrafish where virtual reality is involved Virtual reality is used to study…

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31 July 2023

Articles

Perception of seasonality in zebrafish

Summer is here and we can enjoy the long days. Longer days allow us to be more active and can give us more energy. But what about animals? Do they perceive the changing of the seasons? This month we are going to discover how zebrafish perceive environmental changes such as light and temperature. Natural range Monsoon impacts on zebrafish Perception of seasonality Conclusion References Natural range Zebrafish are found in the river Ganges and its branches in India, Bangladesh and Nepal. They can also be found in Sri Lanka and…

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25 June 2023

Articles

The AquaSorter, a solution to automate the screening and sorting of fish eggs for the aquaculture industry

This month's article will target the amazing news that we received in May! Bionomous was selected to receive the support of Innosuisse in the frame of the Swiss Accelerator. Our project AQUASORTER (Automation and QUAlity SORting Tools for thE aquacultuRe industry) will receive the necessary funding to adapt our current technology for the fish farms industry. Our project focuses on the fish farms industry as there is a need to increase the efficiency of this industry to respond to a global demand. In fact, aquaculture is expected to provide over…

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29 May 2023