Fish GPS? Scientists find goldfish go farther next to certain stripes

With narrower stripes around them, the world appeared to pass by faster and the fish overestimated how far they had swum. Photograph: Roberto Machado Noa/Getty Images

Goldfish may spend most of their time swimming up and down a glass tank but researchers have found they have a sophisticated navigation system that allows them to estimate distance.

While researchers have previously shown a wide array of fish can navigate efficiently, questions remained about the mechanisms involved. Understanding those, scientists say, could help shed light on whether similar brain cells are involved in the internal GPS of the human brain.