News tagged with fruit flies
Brain may 'see' more than the eyes, study indicates
(Medical Xpress)—Vision may be less important to "seeing" than is the brain's ability to process points of light into complex images, according to a new study of the fruit fly visual system currently published ...
Neuroscience
Nov 01, 2012 |
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Green tea extract interferes with the formation of amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's disease
(Medical Xpress)—Researchers at the University of Michigan have found a new potential benefit of a molecule in green tea: preventing the misfolding of specific proteins in the brain.
Alzheimer's disease & dementia
Mar 05, 2013 |
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Is the 'longevity gene' nearing the end of its life?
Sirtuins, proteins believed to significantly increase lifespan in a number of organisms – and the claimed target of some anti-ageing creams – do not, in fact, affect animal longevity, according to new research funded ...
Medical research
Sep 21, 2011 |
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How memory is read out in the brain: MB-V2 nerve cells enable the read-out of associative memories
What happens if you cannot recall your memory correctly? You are able to associate and store the name and face of a person, yet you might be unable to remember them when you meet that person. In this example, ...
Neuroscience
Jul 08, 2011 |
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The brain grows while the body starves
When developing babies are growth restricted in the womb, they are typically born with heads that are large relative to their bodies. The growing brain is protected at the expense of other, less critical organs. Now, researchers ...
Other
Aug 04, 2011 |
4.7 / 5 (7) |
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Alzheimer's prevention in your pantry
(Medical Xpress) -- Alzheimer's, the degenerative brain disorder that disrupts memory, thought and behavior, is devastating to both patients and loved ones. According to the Alzheimer's Association, one in ...
Medical research
Jun 27, 2011 |
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Team isolates nerve cells involved in storing long term memory and gene proteins associated with them
(Medical Xpress) -- A research team in Taiwan has succeeded in isolating two nerve cells in fruit fly brains that are believed to be the major players in allowing for the formation of long term memories. Furthermore, ...
Neuroscience
Feb 10, 2012 |
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Missing link in Parkinson's disease found
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have described a missing link in understanding how damage to the body's cellular power plants leads to Parkinson's disease and, perhaps ...
Medical research
Apr 25, 2013 |
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Sleep switch found in fruit flies
Rather than count sheep, drink warm milk or listen to soothing music, many insomniacs probably wish for a switch they could flick to put themselves to sleep.
Neuroscience
Jun 23, 2011 |
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Researcher points to suppression of evidence on radiation effects by 1946 Nobel Laureate
University of Massachusetts Amherst environmental toxicologist Edward Calabrese, whose career research shows that low doses of some chemicals and radiation are benign or even helpful, says he has uncovered evidence that one ...
Other
Sep 20, 2011 |
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Researchers develop a multi-target approach to treating tumors
Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine developed a cancer model built in the fruit fly Drosophila, then used it to create a whole new approach to the discovery of cancer treatments. The result is an investigational compou ...
Cancer
Jun 07, 2012 |
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Scientists identify brain's 'molecular memory switch'
Scientists have identified a key molecule responsible for triggering the chemical processes in our brain linked to our formation of memories. The findings, published in the journal Frontiers in Neural Circuits, reveal ...
Neuroscience
Mar 28, 2013 |
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Even in fruit flies, enriched learning drives need for sleep
Just like human teenagers, fruit flies that spend a day buzzing around the "fly mall" with their companions need more sleep. That's because the environment makes their brain circuits grow dense new synapses and they need ...
Medical research
Jun 23, 2011 |
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Why women outlive men: It's in our genes, study says
Scientists are beginning to understand one of life's enduring mysteries - why women live, on average, longer than men.
Genetics
Aug 02, 2012 |
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Scientists reverse Alzheimer's-like memory loss in animal models by blocking EGFR signaling
A team of neuroscientists and chemists from the U.S. and China today publish research suggesting that a class of currently used anti-cancer drugs as well as several previously untested synthetic compounds show effectiveness ...
Alzheimer's disease & dementia
Sep 24, 2012 |
4.8 / 5 (4) |
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Tephritidae
Bactrocera Ceratitis Paracantha Rhagoletis Tephritis Urophora Euaresta Xyphosia hundreds more
Tephritidae is one of two fly families referred to as "fruit flies". Tephritidae does not include the biological model organisms of the genus Drosophila, which is often called the "common fruit fly". Drosophila is, instead, the type genus of the second "fruit fly" family, Drosophilidae. There are nearly 5,000 described species of tephritid fruit fly, categorized in almost 500 genera. Description, recategorization, and genetic analysis are constantly changing the taxonomy of this family. To distinguish them from the Drosophilidae, the Tephritidae are sometimes called peacock flies.
Tephritid fruit flies are of major importance in agriculture. Some have negative effects, some positive. Various species of fruit fly cause damage to fruit and other plant crops. The genus Bactrocera is of worldwide notoriety for its destructive impact on agriculture. The olive fruit fly (B. oleae), for example, feeds on only one plant: the wild or commercially cultivated olive. It has the capacity to ruin 100% of an olive crop by damaging the fruit. On the other hand, some fruit flies are used as agents of biological control, thereby reducing the populations of pest species. Several species of the fruit fly genus Urophora are questionable in their effectiveness as control agents against rangeland-destroying noxious weeds such as starthistles and knapweeds.
Most fruit flies lay their eggs in plant tissues, where the larvae find their first food upon emerging. The adults usually have a very short lifespan. Some live for less than a week.
Fruit flies use an open circulatory system as their cardiovascular system.
Their behavioral ecology is of great interest to biologists. Some fruit flies have extensive mating rituals or territorial displays. Many are brightly colored and visually showy. Some fruit flies show Batesian mimicry, bearing the colors and markings of dangerous insects such as wasps because it helps the fruit flies to avoid predators; the flies, of course, lack stingers.
For more information about Tephritidae, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
