clipped from: www.abc.net.au   

A new high-powered microscope has allowed scientists watch a zebrafish develop from a single cell into an embryo with a beating heart, the first time this has been possible in vertebrates, say researchers.

zebrafish embryo
The zebrafish digital embryo, showing the movement of cells encoded in colour on the left-hand side

The team, based at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany, created a three-dimensional digital reconstruction of the tiny, developing fish.

They believe the technology may provide insights into how human organs form and lead to a better understanding of the genetic underpinnings of some diseases.

"This is like being able to watch an animal getting a life," says Dr Joachim Wittbrodt, who led the study published in the journal Science.

"You have a clump of cells that are transforming into an embryo with a beating heart while you are watching."

Scientists have previously achieved this feat with invertebrates such as worms, which only have a few hundred cells