A few weeks ago, the University of Massachusetts Amherst hosted its second annual Research Art-Science Exhibition. I challenged an undergraduate working with me, Catherine Lerose, to create an artistic image that summarized what we had been working on throughout the semester. So together, we came up with a mirror image of a neuromast/bone co-stained zebrafish that we have been using to look at the lateral line canals and canal neuromasts in zebrafish. She nailed it and I am super proud of her for presenting our sciart at this event! See the full images and captions below!
The lateral line system consists of mechanosensory organs found in fishes and amphibians that detect changes in vibrations and pressure. Neuromasts, ciliated cells located within the canals and on the surface of the body, consist of receptors that react to water flow to help with seemingly trivial tasks such as swimming upstream. This image showcases Danio rerio (zebrafish) stained with DiASP and Alizarin which accentuates both the neuromasts and ossified canals that comprise the lateral line system. These methods are being used to evaluate the presence and possible integrity of the lateral line system in cilia mutants in our lab.
Michelle C Gilbert 
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