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News Articles: fruit flies

Fruit fly maggots prefer textures that are or closely resemble rotting fruit.

Not too hard, not too soft, rotting fruit is just right - for fruit fly maggots

It turns out, a maggot's preference for rotting fruit has as much to do with texture as taste. Researchers are looking into figuring out why and what neurons are responsible.

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By:
  • Ari Daniel
The fruit fly connectome contains a wide range of information, from cell types and synapses to neurotransmitters and network properties. Here, cells are color-coded by their defining chemical messenger. <br>

From fruit fly to this guy: a map of one tiny brain may show how larger ones work

The first full map of an adult fruit fly’s brain shows 50 million connections between neurons. Researchers are using the map to learn how all brains work.

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By:
  • Jon Hamilton
Light enters the compound eye of the fly, causing hexagonally arranged photoreceptors to send electrical signals through a complex neural network, enabling the fly to detect motion.

AI met fruit fly, and a better brain model emerged

A virtual version of a fruit fly’s visual system could help scientists understand how brain networks process information. The model could also lead to more efficient AI systems.

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By:
  • Jon Hamilton
To study emotions in animals, scientists need to look beneath feelings to the brain states that produce certain behaviors.

In jumpy flies and fiery mice, scientists see the roots of human emotions

Scientists are trying to understand PTSD and other human disorders by studying emotion-related brain circuits in animals, which research suggests may have a lot in common with the human brain.

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By:
  • Jon Hamilton