Zebrafish genome mapping unlocks disease research

The detailed mapping of zebrafish genomes for the first time by scientists in Cambridgeshire could help develop cures to a range of human diseases.

Researchers at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute have found genes in zebrafish and people mutate in a similar ways, which in turn could help doctors understand the cause of diseases like cancer.

Doctor Ross Kettleborough said: "Knowing everything in the zebrafish, how all the genes function, will help us to learn more about how the human genome works and how the genes are related to disease."

BBC Look East's Mike Cartwright reports.