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19 t m c p u l s e | m a r c h 2 02 0 t m c p u l s e | m a r c h 2 02 0 Advancing Genetics & Molecular Biology I ridescent blue-striped zebrafish dart back and forth in tiny tanks stacked floor-to-ceiling in the basement of Baylor College of Medicine. The freshwater minnows—some 13,000 strong in their watery studio apartments—play an integral role in innovative biomedical research. They are part of the Gorelick Lab, one of more than 3,250 sites in 100 different countries using zebrafish to advance medicine and better understand human diseases. Led by Daniel Gorelick, Ph.D., assistant professor in the department of cellular and molecular biology at Baylor, the lab studies zebrafish to learn how certain hormones and chemicals affect the development and function of the human heart and brain, as well as other tissues. Although science and technology are constantly evolving, zebrafish have remained relevant research tools for almost 50 years. Today, scientists are harnessing the power of CRISPR-Cas9 technology—which can edit segments of the genome by deleting, inserting or altering sections of the DNA—to generate specific mutations in zebrafish. "This has been a huge advance because it allows us to create mutant strains of zebrafish that have the same mutations as are found in a human disease," said Gorelick, whose lab is housed in Baylor's Center for Precision Environmental Health and is currently undergoing an expansion to accommodate as many as 30,000 fish. ➟ Facing page: Tanks filled with zebrafish are integral to research in the Gorelick Lab at Baylor College of Medicine. Above: Daniel Gorelick, Ph.D., assistant professor in the department of cellular and molecular biology, checks on one of the tanks. B y S h a n l e y P i e r c e