Scientists crack mystery of transparent fish glowing with rainbow

Scientists crack mystery of transparent fish glowing with rainbow

Source: dailysabah

3/14/2023

Scientists crack mystery of transparent fish glowing with rainbow

Credit: AP

A little aquarium fish from Thailand is almost completely transparent and you can see right through it. However, that is not the only trick up its sleeve – or up its fin if you will – as when the light hits it just right, its body flickers with shimmering rainbow colors. Now, scientists have figured out how this fish – called the ghost catfish – creates its iridescent glow.

That glow comes from within, according to a study published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. As light passes through the fish’s skin, it hits tiny structures in the muscle that turn the light into a colorful spectrum.