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
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.
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.
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.
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.
Scientists identify host factors critical to dengue virus infection
Apr 22, 2009 |
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By painstakingly silencing genes one at a time, scientists at Duke University Medical Center have identified dozens of proteins the dengue fever virus depends upon to grow and spread among mosquitoes and humans.
Sleep: Spring cleaning for the brain?
Apr 02, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- If you've ever been sleep-deprived, you know the feeling that your brain is full of wool.
Gene Tells Soldier Ants to Beat Swords into Ploughshares
Mar 30, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- While science has yet to discover what makes that little ol' ant think he'll move that rubber tree plant, researchers at the University of Toronto Mississauga have identified an enzyme in ...
Blocking protein may help ease painful nerve condition
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Mar 15, 2009 |
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Scientists have identified the first gene that pulls the plug on ailing nerve cell branches from within the nerve cell, possibly helping to trigger the painful condition known as neuropathy.
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.
Researchers observe evolution chain reaction
Biology /
Feb 05, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of researchers are reporting the ongoing emergence of a new species of fruit fly--and the sequential development of a new species of wasp--in the February 6 issue of the journal Science.
'Scrawny' gene keeps stem cells healthy
Biology /
Jan 07, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Stem cells are the body's primal cells, retaining the youthful ability to develop into more specialized types of cells over many cycles of cell division. How do they do it? Scientists at the ...
'Fly guy' makes memory breakthrough
Dec 10, 2008 |
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Dr. Francois Bolduc keeps more than 300,000 fruit flies in a basement laboratory, where he manipulates their genes and then tests their mental abilities. He's called the "fly guy," and he may sound like a ...
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 ...
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 ...
