New twilight eye cells discovered in fish скачать в хорошем качестве

New twilight eye cells discovered in fish

A new type of cell has been found in the eye of a deep-sea fish, and scientists say the discovery opens a new world of understanding vision in a variety of light conditions. QBI scientists found the new cell type in the deep-sea pearlside fish (Maurolicus spp.), which have an unusual visual system adapted for twilight conditions. Dr Fanny de Busserolles said the retina of most vertebrate animals – including humans – contained two photoreceptor types: rods for vision in dim light, and cones for daytime vision. Each had different light-sensitive proteins. “Deep-sea fish, which live at ocean depths below 200m, are generally only active in the dark, so most species have lost all their cones in favour of light-sensitive rods,” Dr de Busserolles said. Pearlsides, however, are mostly active at dusk and dawn, close to the water’s surface where light levels are intermediate. “Previously it was thought that pearlsides had retinas composed entirely of rods, but our new study has found this isn’t the case,” Dr de Busserolles said. Queensland Brain Institute | http://www.qbi.uq.edu.au Facebook | https://fb.me/qldbraininstitute Twitter |   / qldbraininst   Instagram |   / qldbraininstitute   SoundCloud |   / qldbraininstitute   LinkedIn |   / queensland-brain-institute