fruit fly

(BioMed Central) A study of 228 women has revealed genetic variants responsible for body shape. Based on work in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, research published today in the open access journal BMC Genetics identifies natural variation in the human LAMA5 gene as a key determinant of weight.

(Carnegie Institution) Allan C. Spradling, director of the Carnegie Institution's Department of Embryology, has been awarded the 2008 Genetics Prize by the Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation in recognition of his contributions to fruit fly genomics and for "fundamental discoveries about the earliest stages of reproduction." The prize, which consists of a gold medal and $500,000, will be presented to Spradling at the International Congress of Genetics in Berlin on July 13, 2008.

(University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine) Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have shown how Argos, a fruit fly protein, acts as a "decoy" receptor, binding growth factors that promote the progression of cancer.

Knowing how Argos neutralizes tumor growth may lead to new drug designs for inhibiting cancer.

(University of Georgia) A team of researchers from the University of Georgia has discovered for the first time that the important developmental switch from food attraction to aversion in the fruit fly larva is controlled by a timing mechanism in the brain and its sensory system.

The study shows how this important avoidance mechanism has been recruited into evolutionary processes to promote development and could lead to new methods of controlling pain in humans and other animals.

(Penn State) For the first time, research has made possible a detailed map of how the building blocks of chromosomes, the cellular structures that contain genes, are organized in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster.

The work identifies a critical stop sign for transcription, the first step in gene expression, and has implications for understanding how the AIDS virus regulates its genes.

(University of Florida) By monitoring gene activity levels and changes in chromatin -- the protein spools that the genes wrap around -- University of Florida researchers were able to detect epigenetic factors that make fruit fly cells resistant to radiation.

The discovery suggests that tumor cells may have similar protection from radiotherapy or chemotherapy, an insight that may lead to more effective cancer treatments.

A team of UIC neuroscientists has developed a technique for extracting useful quantities of insect blood from a single fruit fly.

The technique may prove useful in genetic studies and for studying minute amounts of fluid from disease hot-spots, such as those where some retinal diseases begin.

A University of Missouri researcher has found, through the study of Drosophila (a type of fruit fly), that by manipulating levels of certain compounds associated with the "circuitry" of the brain, key genes related to memory can be isolated and tested.

The results of the study may benefit human patients suffering from Parkinson's disease and could eventually lead to discoveries in the treatment of depression.

According to researchers at the Monell Center, fruit flies are more like humans in their responses to many sweet tastes than are almost any other species, including some species of monkeys.

The findings demonstrate the critical role of environment in shaping the evolution of taste preferences and feeding behavior.