Audio slideshow screenshots
Clockwise: A normal fruit fly next to another with a liver disease, white-eyed mutant flies feeding, a collage of epifluorescence images of flies internal organs or systems, and a fruit fly brain with neurons that control mating, fluorescing in green
Clockwise: A normal fruit fly next to another with a liver disease, white-eyed mutant flies feeding, a collage of epifluorescence images of flies internal organs or systems, and a fruit fly brain with neurons that control mating, fluorescing in green
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Research in fruit flies, Drosophila, specially D. melanogaster, has been fundamental for enhancing our knowledge of genetics as a whole and of human genetics in particular, since we share about 60% of our genes with them. In lab we have used software that simulates controlled crosses of fruit flies with specific mutations, and in the next few weeks we will perform more complex simulations.But fruit flies are also used in other areas of research. Check out this audio slideshow, produced by the BBC, on the use of fruit flies in neurophysiology research. Some of the general principles outlined by the researcher apply to genetics research too. The system to breed the flies (jars with growth media, covered with cotton or gauze) is the same as in genetics research.