Related topics: current biology · fruit flies

Study unlocks secrets of an elusive genome compartment

Although much of the human genome has been sequenced and assembled, scientists have hit roadblocks trying to map unassembled regions of DNA that consist mostly of repetitive sequences, including the centromere.

Amino acid in fruit fly intestines found to regulate sleep

A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in China has found that an amino acid made in fruit fly intestines plays a key role in regulating their sleep. In their paper published in the journal Nature Communications, ...

How do insects feel the heat?

Every year, nearly 700 million people contract mosquito-borne illnesses such as malaria, dengue, West Nile virus or yellow fever.

Mothers use sex pheromones to veil eggs, preventing cannibalism

Species that lay eggs but don't actively keep watch over them often protect their precious eggs from predators by laying them in communal groups or by fortifying them with toxins. However, protecting these eggs from being ...

Transparent fruit flies

The nervous system of an animal can be studied by cutting it up into thin layers—however this inevitably leads to the destruction of the cellular structures in the tissue. Analyzing complex nerve connections is then hardly ...

Genome-wide rules of nucleosome phasing in drosophila

LMU researchers have, for the first time, systematically determined the positioning of the packing units of the fruit fly genome and discovered a new protein that defines their relationship to the DNA sequence.

New technique reveals limb control in flies—and maybe robots

A new neural recording technique developed by EPFL bioengineers enables for the first time the comprehensive measurement of neural circuits that control limb movement. Tested on the fruit fly, results from the technique may ...

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