IMP Director Barry Dickson and his group are interested in the genetic basis of innate behaviour. They focus on the reproductive behaviour of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Two years ago, the team was able to identify the fruitless gene as a key regulator of mating behaviour.

While the biological basis for homosexuality remains a mystery, a team of neurobiologists reports they may have closed in on an answer -- by a nose.

Cornell researchers have played a major role in an international scientific team that has compared the complete set of genes of 12 closely related fruit fly species. As well has having implications for human health -- from genetic adaptation to evolving immune systems - the analysis paves the way for better understanding the evolution of each species.

As part of a major new international genome sequencing project, Brown biologists assembled the complete mitochondrial DNA sequences of seven different species of fruit fly. Their work, published in Nature, provides scientists with an exciting new tool to understand the genetic differences within a species as well as the evolutionary relationships among different species.

In one of the first large-scale comparisons of multiple animal genomes, scientists at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) at MIT, and many collaborating institutions, have analyzed the genomes of twelve species of the fruit fly Drosophila to reveal insights on the evolution of genes and genomes and to discern the functional elements encoded in animal DNA.

Researchers in the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine have discovered the first two genes involved in moisture sensing (hygrosensation). The discovery also reveals a "two-sensor" hygrosensing system in fruit flies that may allow the flies to detect subtle changes in humidity -- an ability that is critical for the flies' survival. The results appear in the Nov. 8 issue of Nature.

An international research consortium of scientists, supported by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), today announced publications comparing the genome sequences of 12 closely related fruit fly species, 10 of which were sequenced for the first time.

The sequencing and comparison of 12 fruit fly genomes -- the result of a massive collaboration of hundreds of scientists from more than 100 institutions in 16 countries -- has thrust forward researchers' understanding of fruit flies, a popular animal model in science.

Research published in the online open access journal Genome Biology this week has identified a number of genes that are associated with sensitivity to alcohol in fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster). It is hoped that these findings will help researchers uncover the genetic basis of drinking behaviour in humans.

Scientists have discovered a strange mechanism for the development of the fruit fly antennal lobe, an intricate structure that converts the chaotic stew of odors in the environment into discrete signals in the brain.

The genes that make a fruit fly’s eyes red also produce red wing patterns in the Heliconius butterfly found in South and Central America, finds a new study by a UC Irvine entomologist.

Dragonflies adjust their wing motion while hovering to conserve energy, according to a Cornell University study of the insect's flight mechanics. The revelation contradicts previous speculation that the change in wing motion served to enhance vertical lift.