Fly

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Nematocera (includes Eudiptera) Brachycera

True flies are insects of the order Diptera (Greek: di = two, and pteron = wing), possessing a single pair of wings on the mesothorax and a pair of halteres, derived from the hind wings, on the metathorax.

The presence of a single pair of wings distinguishes true flies from other insects with "fly" in their name, such as mayflies, dragonflies, damselflies, stoneflies, whiteflies, fireflies, alderflies, dobsonflies, snakeflies, sawflies, caddisflies, butterflies or scorpionflies. Some true flies have become secondarily wingless, especially in the superfamily Hippoboscoidea, or among those that are inquilines in social insect colonies.

Diptera is a large order, containing an estimated 240,000 species of mosquitos, gnats, midges and others, although under half of these (about 120,000 species) have been described. It is one of the major insect orders both in terms of ecological and human (medical and economic) importance. The Diptera, in particular the mosquitoes (Culicidae), are of great importance as disease transmitters, acting as vectors for malaria, dengue, West Nile virus, yellow fever, encephalitis and other infectious diseases.

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News tagged with flies

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Schizophrenia gene's role may be broader, more potent, than thought

Medicine & Health / Research

created Nov 19, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- UCSF scientists studying nerve cells in fruit flies have uncovered a new function for a gene whose human equivalent may play a critical role in schizophrenia.


Technique finds gene regulatory sites without knowledge of regulators

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Nov 19, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

A new statistical technique developed by researchers at the University of Illinois allows scientists to scan a genome for specific gene-regulatory regions without requiring prior knowledge of the relevant transcription factors. ...


Invasive Nettle Moth Triggers Hawaii Research

Invasive Nettle Moth Triggers Hawaii Research

Biology / Ecology

created Nov 19, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Like children everywhere, kids in Hawaii love to run barefoot through tall grass. But an invasive pest called the nettle moth caterpillar can take the fun out of this simple childhood pleasure, ...


Deciphering the regulatory code

Deciphering the regulatory code: Scientists take new approach to predict gene expression

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Nov 04, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Embryonic development is like a well-organised building project, with the embryo's DNA serving as the blueprint from which all construction details are derived. Cells carry out different functions according ...


Drunken fruit flies help scientists find potential drug target for alcoholism

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Nov 03, 2009 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0

A group of drunken fruit flies have helped researchers from North Carolina State and Boston universities identify entire networks of genes—also present in humans—that play a key role in alcohol drinking behavior. This discovery, ...


Slimming gene regulates body fat

Biology / Biotechnology

created Nov 02, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Scientists at the University of Bonn, Germany, have discovered a previously unknown fruit fly gene that controls the metabolism of fat. Larvae in which this gene is defective lose their entire fat reserves. Therefore the ...


Circadian surprise: Mechanism of temperature synchronization in drosophila

Biology / Biotechnology

created Oct 28, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

New research reveals a pathway that links peripheral sensory tissues with a "clock" in the brain to regulate molecular processes and behaviors in response to cyclical temperature changes. The research, published by Cell Press ...


Researchers discover mechanism that prevents two species from reproducing

Biology / Biotechnology

created Oct 26, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 3

Cornell researchers have discovered a genetic mechanism in fruit flies that prevents two closely related species from reproducing, a finding that offers clues to how species evolve.


Alcohol tolerance 'switch' found

Medicine & Health / Genetics

created Oct 21, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Researchers at North Carolina State University have found a genetic "switch" in fruit flies that plays an important role in making flies more tolerant to alcohol.


Fruit Fly (Drosophila melanogaster)

Happy flies look for a place like home

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Oct 19, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- A happy youth can influence where a fruit fly chooses to live as an adult, according to new research in The American Naturalist. The study, led by Judy Stamps from the University of Califo ...


Fruit fly pest identified in wine grapes

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Oct 15, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

A newly recognized pest in Oregon continues to concern fruit growers and researchers with the recent discovery of a Spotted Wing Drosophila fly in a sample of Willamette Valley wine grapes.


Absent pheromones turn flies into lusty Lotharios

Absent pheromones turn flies into lusty Lotharios

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Oct 14, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (6) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- When Professor Joel Levine's team genetically tweaked fruit flies so that they didn't produce certain pheromones, they triggered a sexual tsunami in their University of Toronto Mississauga ...


Why do human populations differ? Fruit fly study aims to provide genetic answers

Biology / Other

created Oct 13, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Charles Aquadro, professor of molecular biology and genetics, researches how fruit flies provide clues to humans' own genetic footprints of adaptation.


Scientists identify protein that enhances long-term memory by controlling rest intervals

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Oct 01, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (4) | comments 0

As most good students realize, repeated studying produces good memory. Those who study a lot realize, further, that what they learn tends to be preserved longer in memory if they space out learning sessions between rest intervals. ...


Fruit Fly (Drosophila melanogaster)

Fruit fly sperm makes females do housework after sex

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Sep 30, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

The sperm of male fruit flies are coated with a chemical 'sex peptide' which inhibits the female's usual afternoon siesta and compels her into an intense period of foraging activity.