- Recent news reported a shocking study related to fish that turned into zombies by antidepressants.
- Researchers used guppy fish for two-year-long experimental works and studied the results
- Fluoxetine is a known antidepressant medicine also famous for Prozac.
- Environmental pollution by human activities is causing problems for marine life.
Recent news reported a shocking study related to fish that turned into zombies by antidepressants. The news stated the results evaluated by the researchers. Fluoxetine is the medication that is responsible for such behavior of fish. It is a known antidepressant medicine also famous for Prozac. The medicine drained into water bodies has toxic effects on the fish, making them zombies.
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Researchers used guppy fish for two-year-long experimental works and studied the results. The scientific name of guppy fish is Poecilia reticulate. Other names of these fish are rainbow fish and millionfish. It is used as pet fish in freshwater aquariums. Guppy is the tropical fish most commonly present worldwide.
During the two-year-long experimental work, the researchers kept fish in water polluted with the same quantity of fluoxetine that was present in reported contaminated water bodies.
The Prozac drug Fluoxetine is used as a treatment for different health situations notably panic disorder, bulimia nervosa, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and depression.
With reference to published research in the Royal Society, the U.K.’s National Academy of Sciences, guppies of fresh and uncontaminated water show variations in their behaviors that are necessary for their survival.
The results indicated the toxic effects of fluoxetine resulted in the loss of behavioral individuality in fish. This non-adoptive behavior is dangerous for fish because it would be unable to tackle new changes in water bodies.
The news further quoted statements from Doctor Giovanni Polverino, Forrest Postdoctoral Fellow at the School of Biological Sciences of the University of Australia. He briefly elaborated on the situation by mentioning the behavioral difference in fish. He said that the fish population varies in their behaviors regarding their response to changes in the water. If one dies by taking a wrong decision, the others would continue living due to behavioral differences.
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Moreover, he concluded that the ever-increasing environmental pollution might cause severe damage to the fish population by interrupting their behavioral variations.
However, it should be noted that this topic is incomplete and needs detailed study and consistent research related to the possible everlasting effects of fluoxetine on fish pollution. Would fish return to normal behavior in uncontaminated water is yet to be discovered.
The news summarized the whole study by highlighting the fact that environmental pollution by human activities is causing problems for marine life.
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