Scientists have relied on animal models as an alternative to testing on human tissues and cells for decades. But not just any organism can adequately model how human cells behave. Researchers take into account how quickly the organism can mature, how many offspring it can produce and how often it can reproduce. When studying genetics and developmental biology, one of the most important qualities to consider is how similar the model organism’s genes are to human genes.
Although humans and fish certainly look very different, the zebrafish has proved to be an excellent model organism for scientists studying hematopoiesis, or the development of blood cells.
