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Published: November 4, 2015

Clearing and Staining Fishes

Out of any creatures in the animal kingdom, spiders seem to have the worst reputation. Their many legs and unpredictable movements elicit a fear response in even the most stoic of individuals. Let's take a moment to put our fear aside and learn more about these global dominators with Dr. Petra Sierwald!

Diaphonization -- otherwise known as clearing and staining -- is one of the most photogenic preparation methods used by research scientists. It's beautiful, but is it practical? We interviewed Dr. Caleb McMahan, Collection Manager of Fishes, on how he uses this technique to answer questions about the evolution of fish!

Big thanks to Caleb for taking the time to share his work with us, and to Alan Resetar for lending the reptile and amphibian specimens!… as well as the extra light table because ours broke right before filming. :(