Kids Web Japan

Medaka studies have been conducted at Nagoya University for about 60 years, using fish bred especially for research.

Inside the Lab

Let’s take a look!

Move your mouse over here to see an explanation.

(Courtesy of Professor Yuko Wakamatsu of Nagoya University)

Scientists use these fish to study toxins in the environment, such as endocrine disruptors and other water pollutants. (Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that affect hormones that help animals to stay healthy and reproduce.)

See-through medaka can help scientists learn more in medical research, because live fish can let them see how diseases progress and whether/how medicines help to cure them.

What is a medaka?

These fish live in gently flowing streams, ponds, and rice fields and are often studied by children in elementary school science class. Medaka are vertebrates that are quite popular as pets in Japan and are familiar to many Japanese people.

(Updated in September 2007)