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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Fish help researchers trace the origins of how the brain calculates math, reports a review in Frontiers in Neuroanatomy . An international team has reviewed more than 200 publications, which together show that fish perceive quantity using parts of their brains similar to those used by mammals and birds. Research is still underway to find the specific brain circuits that enable number processing, but these findings could eventually help treat human ailments that impair math skills. “Fish is on par with other animals in terms of a sense of quantity,” said the correspondent author Prof. Giorgio Vallortigara from the University of Trento in Italy. “There are species, particularly the zebrafish, which are ideal models for studying the molecular and genetic basis of a sense of quantity. This could have important implications for neurodevelopmental diseases that affect number cognition, such as developmental dyscalc

An international team of researchers led by UC Davis geneticist Suma Shankar has discovered a new gene involved in a neurodevelopmental condition called DPH5-associated diphtamide deficiency syndrome. This syndrome is caused by a variant of the DPH5 gene that can cause embryonic death or profound neurodevelopmental delay. Findings from their study were published in Genetics in Medicine. “We are very excited about the discovery of this new gene,” said lead author Suma Shankar, professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Ophthalmology and faculty at the UC Davis MIND Institute. Shankar is director of Precision Genomics, Albert Rowe Endowed Chair in Genetics, and head of the Division of Genomic Medicine. DPH5 is essential for protein biosynthesis. It belongs to the class of genes required for the synthesis of diphtamide, a type of modified amino acid histidine, essential for the synthesis of ribosomal proteins. “We provide strong clinical, biochemical and functional evidence for DPH5