What has about 1,440 feet of nerve tissue? It courts, sings and flies, and yet is contained in a space measuring 3/4 of one millimeter by one quarter of a millimeter?
Answer: The fruit fly.
That’s correct. In the Journal Nature there is a great article on the exciting new effort to map the brain of a fruit fly. Yes, those annoying little objects wreaking havoc on your bananas and apples have brains, and scientists have mapped their brains.
Could we possibly be related to a fruit fly? Yep. We share 75 percent of the same genes. Keep this in mind when the wife’s third cousin, Howard, shows up with a few buddies of his and a large pizza to watch football. Those flitting black specks could be more kinfolk.
Because of their short lifespan — 40 to 50 days — and the fact that they contain so many of the same genes, they are ideal for researching genetic anomalies. The University of Edinburgh has one of the largest breeding programs for this unique insect. Genetic markers that glow, change color and perform other tasks help other researchers study genetic changes.
Fruit flies can sing, though one wonders how they holding a standard mike. They court their mates. Following courtship, the female fly can produce 500 eggs before crossing over.
They even have memories. Remember that before embarking on a major massacre attempt. It is uncertain if absolution may be granted for introducing so many souls to their maker.
Bugged or bummed? Well, those kinfolk of your wife’s cousin Howard may actually be helping to trace our own genetic map, and could be useful in finding future cures for ailments of the brain and the mind. It is already known what part of the brain controls the laugh capability of people. It is a small area in the left side of the frontal cortex. Stimulated, it causes the body to engage in a physical and audible laugh motion. This new technology may now help us find out what is funny.
It is doubtful there would be enough paper to make a truly portable “DeLorme” version of the brain. But who knows? Our next teachers could be fruit flies. Need a second banana?
Orpheus Allison is a photojournalist living in The County who graduated from UMPI and earned a master of liberal arts degree from the University of North Carolina. He began his journalism career at WAGM television, later working in many different areas of the US. After 20 years of television he changed careers and taught in China and Korea.
