Stories tagged fruit fly
Up up down down left right left right B A start!: or was it IDDQD? Yes! Infinite lives and ammo.
Courtesy bramblejungleA single gene has been isolated in male fruit flies that seems to somehow make them skilled at videogames, Dungeons and Dragons (all versions), and Star Trek trivia.
Scientists are not yet able to fully explain this phenomenon, but they believe that the gene may govern a pheromone receptor, and causes it to block or misinterpret chemical signals normal fruit flies receive as stimuli towards good hygiene, snappy dressing, and social interaction.
So skilled are these fruit flies at games and trivia, they are able to actually beat games that don’t exist, and answer questions about Next Generation episodes that never made it to filming. Likewise, these flies have often been observed “rolling” for everyday actions and commenting derisively on the stats of peers.
Read all about it here, friends.
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Honeybee: Courtesy WikipediaScientists have unraveled the honeybee’s genetic code. Information was ascertained pertaining to the honeybee’s complex social behavior patterns, keen sense of smell and African origin. This is the third insect to have its genome mapped. Other insects which have had their genome mapped include the fruit fly and mosquito.
.thumbnail.jpg "Fruit Fly - Drosophilidae: Drosophila melanogaster Photo by André Karwath")
Fruit Fly - Drosophilidae: Drosophila melanogaster Photo by André Karwath
Human and mouse cells are continuously replenished with stem cells, and when they are not regulated correctly, common digestive diseases and cancer can occur. Insects had not been investigated until recently when adult fruit flies (Drosophila) were found to have the same stem cells controlling cell regulation in their gut as humans. This is reported by Benjamin Ohlstein and Allan Spradling at The Carnegie Institution of Washington, Maryland. The similarity in intestinal stem cells of the fruit fly includes their being multipotent, which means that the stem cells can turn into different cell types in both insects and humans. This research helps in developing cures for digestive disorders including some cancers, and indicates that insects and humans were derived from the same evolutionary pathway more than 500 million year ago.
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