Topic description and stories

The world's their fish finger

12 Mar 2020

Smothered in ketchup or squished into a sandwich, there’s one tasty convenience food that’s hard to resist. Now two Cambridge researchers believe...

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Stickleback

Shoals of sticklebacks differ in their collective personalities

07 Feb 2018

Research from the University of Cambridge has revealed that, among schooling fish, groups can have different collective personalities, with some...

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Left: Early skate embryo labeled with fluorescent dye. Right: Image of a hatchling skate

Deeper origin of gill evolution suggests 'active lifestyle' link in early vertebrates

09 Feb 2017

Fish embryo study indicates that the last common ancestor of vertebrates was a complex animal complete with gills – overturning prior scientific...

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Sonic hedgehog gene provides evidence that our limbs may have evolved from sharks’ gills

19 Apr 2016

Latest analysis shows that human limbs share a genetic programme with the gills of cartilaginous fishes such as sharks and skates, providing evidence...

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Danio rerio (Zebrafish)

Even without lungs, zebrafish help us study TB

25 Nov 2015

The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge's connections with animals through literature, art, science and society. Here, Z is for...

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Neolamprologus pulcher (N. Pulcher) breed of cichlid fish used in the study

Fish born in larger groups develop more social skills and a different brain structure

07 May 2015

New research on a highly social fish shows that those reared in larger social groups from the earliest stage of life develop increased social skills...

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Three-spined sticklebacks

It’s lonely at the top: stickleback leaders are stickleback loners

02 Dec 2014

Research reveals that sticklebacks with bolder personalities are not only better leaders but also less sociable than more timid fish. The behaviour...

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Coral trout with modal of moray eel during experiment

Fish as good as chimpanzees at choosing the best partner for a task

09 Sep 2014

Latest research shows that coral trout can now join chimpanzees as the only non-human species that can choose the right situation and the right...

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Left: Illustration of Metaspriggina swimming. Right: Fossil of Metaspriggina from Marble Canyon – head to the left with two eyes, and branchial arches at the top.

New fossil find pinpoints the origin of jaws in vertebrates

11 Jun 2014

A major fossil discovery in Canada sheds new light on the development of the earliest vertebrates, including the origin of jaws, the first time this...

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Deforestation starves fish

11 Jun 2014

Research shows forest debris that drains into lakes is an important contributor to freshwater food chains – bolstering fish diets to the extent that...

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Cod skeleton indicating anatomical categories used in the study

Cod bones reveal 13th-century origin of London’s global fish trade

28 May 2014

Researchers have uncovered the medieval tipping-point when local fishing could no longer support the demands of the burgeoning metropolis, and...

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Evidence shows fish collaboration on hunting prey

23 Apr 2013

Groupers and coral trout perform a pointing signal to indicate the location of hidden prey

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