The Why Files
40 Uhrin_Amy
Amy V. Uhrin, Graduate Student, Department of Zoology
World's Ugliest Model: The sonic or sound-producing muscles of the oyster toadfish, Opsanus tau, are the fastest known twitching vertebrate muscles at two hundred times per second and are used by males to produce a foghorn-like sound to attract females. This capacity for muscle contraction makes the oyster toadfish a model organism for studying muscle pathology. Medical researchers are also attempting to understand mechanisms behind the fish's high tolerance for ammonia in water in hope of halting the toxic effects of high ammonia concentrations in humans. Lastly, the balance system of the oyster toadfish is similar to that of humans making it a valuable neurological model for disorders such as motion sickness. In fact, the oyster toadfish gained notoriety in 1998 when it soared into space on the space shuttle as part of a project examining the effects of microgravity on balance.
40 Uhrin_Amy
Amy V. Uhrin, Graduate Student, Department of Zoology
World's Ugliest Model: The sonic or sound-producing muscles of the oyster toadfish, Opsanus tau, are the fastest known twitching vertebrate muscles at two hundred times per second and are used by males to produce a foghorn-like sound to attract females. This capacity for muscle contraction makes the oyster toadfish a model organism for studying muscle pathology. Medical researchers are also attempting to understand mechanisms behind the fish's high tolerance for ammonia in water in hope of halting the toxic effects of high ammonia concentrations in humans. Lastly, the balance system of the oyster toadfish is similar to that of humans making it a valuable neurological model for disorders such as motion sickness. In fact, the oyster toadfish gained notoriety in 1998 when it soared into space on the space shuttle as part of a project examining the effects of microgravity on balance.