Somatostatin Zebrafish Farm
January 18, 2012
One of the most promising consequences of downsizing the human species is the change in space and time it’ll take to grow food. In several research installations at Food Forward (a look into the future of food) The Incredible Shrinking Man investigates new possibilities. Like the potential for a specific type of fish to feed us and suppress growth at the same time.
Zebrafish, or Danio rerio, are popular small aquarium fish. To investigate its future possibilities as a nutrient, we’ve set up an indoor hatchery. Danio’s easy breeding qualities and size of 6 cm could make it a perfect small consumption fish for The Incredible Shrinking Man. Especially since zebrafish share with us genetic similarities in many developmental pathways. Our genes are strikingly similar, which makes it a perfect model organism. This opens up the possibility to genetically alter the zebrafish’s endocrinological system so it produces hormones and antogonists that surpress growth, like somatostatin, Pegvisomant, or GHRHR. Eating these fish would keep us small. Similar experiments with zebrafish as vaccine are already taking place.
[…] Hormone treatment: Perhaps it shouldn’t feature on this D.I.Y. list but Somatostatin is a drug to suppress the growth in people with acromegaly. The use of this medecin on a normal […]
[…] Ostrich BBQ and Sunflower Table and explorations of new ingredients and possibilities such as the Somatostatin Zebrafish and Guinea Pig Farm. But it is not just about new ingredients and abundance. The physical […]