Video Made Inside Embryonic Fish’s Heart

Caltech researchers have imaged the blood flow inside the heart of a growing embryonic zebrafish. The results demonstrate for the first time that blood flowing at a high velocity over cardiac tissue is an important factor in the development of the heart -- a result that could have profound implications for surgical techniques and genetic engineering.

They reported in the current issue of Nature that they were able to get high-resolution video of the growing heart. And they found that surgically limiting the flow of blood through the heart caused it to develop abnormally.