medaka

noun

me·​da·​ka mə-ˈdä-kə How to pronounce medaka (audio)
: a small Japanese freshwater fish (Oryzias latipes) usually silvery brown in the wild but from pale yellow to deep red in aquarium strains

Examples of medaka in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
On the International Space Station in the 2010s, a school of medaka fish were used to track bone density loss and see how the higher radiation in space degrades their DNA. Briley Lewis, Popular Science, 5 June 2024 The Japanese rice fish, also referred to as medaka, has transparent skin — perfect for helping researchers investigate the effects of microgravity on marine life, and more specifically, the effects on their bones. Lydia Rivers, Discover Magazine, 3 May 2021 Their results, published this week in Science, suggests that, at least in the medaka, a single gene suppresses 'maleness' in developing reproductive cells. Christie Wilcox, Discover Magazine, 12 June 2015 Through the medaka, a species that’s been used in space studies since 1994, scientists are working to uncover this mechanism in hopes of developing a treatment for osteoporosis for space travelers and the rest of us on Earth. Lydia Rivers, Discover Magazine, 3 May 2021 Also known as Japanese rice fish, medaka are small, freshwater fish native to Japan. Danny Lewis, Smithsonian, 16 Jan. 2017 Since humans and medaka grow their skeletons in similar ways, that gives scientists a good starting point to figure out how the process actually occurs, Byrne reports. Danny Lewis, Smithsonian, 16 Jan. 2017

Word History

Etymology

Japanese

First Known Use

1906, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of medaka was in 1906

Dictionary Entries Near medaka

Cite this Entry

“Medaka.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/medaka. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!