Finding the relevant genes started with looking for fish with particular mutations. The Harris Lab, of which Hawkins is a part, screened over 10,000 mutated animals for particular skeletal defects. Among those that stuck out were zebrafish that had extra bones in their fins. Much like lab mice and fruit flies, zebrafish are classic study animals for understanding genetics and development. They’re classified as teleosts—bony fish that support their fins on pointed rays. Only, some of the mutant zebrafish had fins that had extra bones. Not only that, but the new bones were attached to muscles and even formed joints, just like a limb. “Finding a fish with extra fin bones that should never be there was quite the ‘Eureka!’ moment,” Hawkins says.
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
