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"Discovery Files" Features from the National Science Foundation
"Blow Flies"
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AND NOW FOR SOMETHING REALLY "FLY"... THE "DISCOVERY FILES": NEW ADVANCES IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. WHAT CAN WE LEARN ABOUT HUMAN-BRAIN FUNCTION FROM A FRUIT-FLY? THE ANSWER, MY FRIEND, MAY BE BLOWING IN THE WIND--AT LEAST ACCORDING TO RESEARCHERS FROM CAL-TECH. YOU SEE, A LITTLE BREEZE--LIKE THE AIR FROM A BLOW-DRYER--WILL CAUSE FRUIT-FLIES TO FREEZE IN THEIR TRACKS, SEIZE UP, AND HUNKER DOWN IN A PROTECTIVE MODE, UNTIL THINGS CALM DOWN. THE TEAM--INTRIGUED BY THIS BEHAVIOR--WANTED TO ZERO IN TO FIND OUT HOW THIS DEFENSE MECHANISM GETS PROCESSED INSIDE THE FLY'S BRAIN. THEY FOUND THAT THE DEFENSIVE RESPONSE IS DETECTED BY THE SAME SENSORY ORGAN IN THE ANTENNAE THAT PICKS UP SOUND OF THE MATING-CALL. HOW DOES THE FLY KNOW WHETHER TO FREEZE UP AND WAIT--OR GET READY FOR A HOT DATE? A CLOSER LOOK WAS NEEDED. THROUGH MICRO SURGERY AND IMAGING, THE RESEARCHERS WERE ABLE TO SCAN THE TINY REGIONS OF THE FLY'S BRAIN; THEY FOUND TWO SEPARATE AREAS FOR CONTROLLING THE DEFENSIVE RESPONSE, AND THE AMOROUS ONE. UNDERSTANDING THESE NEURAL CENTERS IN A FLY FURTHERS OUR KNOWLEDGE OF HOW THE HUMAN BRAIN WORKS--AND HOW WE MAY, SOMEDAY, BE BETTER ABLE TO TARGET AND TREAT SPECIFIC REGIONS OF THE GOOD-OLE GRAY-MATTER--WHILE LEAVING ADJACENT AREAS UNTOUCHED. THE "DISCOVERY FILES" COVERS PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT'S NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH BROUGHT TO YOU BY YOU! LEARN MORE AT "N-S-F"-DOT-GOV--OR ON THEIR PODCAST.
For additional "Discovery Files" features from the National Science Foundation, click here.
