Wu Jen-leih of Taipei's Academia Sinica headed a team that took a gene that makes jelly fish fluoresce and transplanted it into the livers of zebra fish that were then later implanted with cancer cells for testing, The Associated Press reports.
The gene highlighted the cancerous tissue with a special tint, which allowed scientists to monitor cancer development in the fish's liver through a special microscope and evaluate the impact of drugs.
Wu says fluorescent zebra fish can test experimental drugs for cancers in less time and at less cost than conventional laboratory mice.
He says zebra fish were chosen because the structure and function of their internal organs resemble those of humans, and they react similarly to cancerous tissue
