News

A fish’s solution to broken hearts

By John Travis

- More than 2 years ago

A zebrafish can regrow its heart within 2 months of having a significant portion of it surgically removed, according to a study in the Dec. 13, 2002 Science. “Zebrafish hearts can regenerate without scars,” says Mark T. Keating, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at Children’s Hospital in Boston, where he led the work.

FISH TALES. When scientists removed about 20 percent of this zebrafish heart (top, area below dotted line), it regrew to its normal size and shape within 2 months (bottom).