Fly
hideNematocera (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
The how and why of freezing the common fruit fly
Dec 18, 2009 |
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Using a microscope the size of a football field, researchers from The University of Western Ontario are studying why some insects can survive freezing, while others cannot.
Researchers revise long-held theory of fruit-fly development
Dec 17, 2009 |
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For decades, science texts have told a simple and straightforward story about a particular protein—a transcription factor—that helps the embryo of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, pattern tissues in a m ...
Balancing protein intake, not cutting calories, may be key to long life
Dec 02, 2009 |
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Getting the correct balance of proteins in our diet may be more important for healthy ageing than reducing calories, new research funded by the Wellcome Trust and Research into Ageing suggests.
Scientists show that female fruit flies can be 'too attractive' to males
Dec 08, 2009 |
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Females can be too attractive to the opposite sex -- too attractive for their own good -- say biologists at UC Santa Barbara. They found that, among fruit flies, too much male attention directed toward attractive ...
Fruit fly neuron can reprogram itself after injury
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Dec 06, 2009 |
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Studies with fruit flies have shown that the specialized nerve cells called neurons can rebuild themselves after injury.
Schizophrenia gene's role may be broader, more potent, than thought
Nov 19, 2009 |
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(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.
Researchers identify gene that spurs deadly brain cancer
Dec 03, 2009 |
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Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) researchers have identified a new factor that is necessary for the development of many forms of medulloblastoma, the most common type of malignant childhood brain cancer.
Researchers discover how a brain hormone controls insect metamorphosis
Dec 03, 2009 |
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A team of University of Minnesota researchers have discovered how PTTH, a hormone produced by the brain, controls the metamorphosis of juvenile insects into adults.
Latest epidemic? High cholesterol, obesity in fruit flies
Dec 02, 2009 |
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How do fruit flies get high cholesterol and become obese? The same way as people do - by eating a diet that's too rich in fats.
Scientists find emotion-like behaviors, regulated by dopamine, in fruit flies
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 25, 2009 |
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Scientists at the California Institute of Technology have uncovered evidence of a primitive emotion-like behavior in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. Their findings, which may be relevant to the relationship betwee ...
From fruit fly wings to heart failure -- why Not(ch)?
Dec 10, 2009 |
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Almost a century after it was discovered in fruit flies with notches in their wings, the Notch signalling pathway may come to play an important role in the recovery from heart attacks. In a study published ...
New insights into health and environmental effects of carbon nanoparticles
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Aug 05, 2009 |
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Carbon nanoparticles are widely used in medicine, electronics, optics, materials science and architecture, but their health and environmental impact is not fully understood.
Appetite, consumption controlled by clockwork genes at cross-purposes in flies
Dec 06, 2009 |
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One of the pioneers in research on sleep:wake circadian genes, Amita Sehgal, Ph.D., has discovered that fruit flies' appetite and consumption are controlled by two rival sets of clocks, one in neurons and the other in the ...
Researchers find genes important to sleep
Feb 22, 2009 |
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For many animals, sleep is a risk: foraging for food, mingling with mates and guarding against predators just aren't possible while snoozing.
Dogs, maybe not, but old genes can learn new tricks
May 11, 2009 |
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A popular view among evolutionary biologists that fundamental genes do not acquire new functions was challenged this week by a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
