Flies Model While They Nap?

What a yawn that old horror flick The Fly might have been, had the screenwriter known then about a new piece of Drosophila research. In the movie, a fly gets trapped with a half-mad inventor inside his "matter transporter," an accident that somehow results in a fly-man whose over-amped style includes no apparent need for sleep. But flies do enjoy a "sleep-like state," says Douglas Nitz of the Neuroscience Institute in San Diego. Indeed, his group's work suggests that the fruit fly may be a g

| 1 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
1:00
Share

What a yawn that old horror flick The Fly might have been, had the screenwriter known then about a new piece of Drosophila research. In the movie, a fly gets trapped with a half-mad inventor inside his "matter transporter," an accident that somehow results in a fly-man whose over-amped style includes no apparent need for sleep. But flies do enjoy a "sleep-like state," says Douglas Nitz of the Neuroscience Institute in San Diego. Indeed, his group's work suggests that the fruit fly may be a good model for studying the genetics of sleep (D. Nitz et al., "Electrophysiological correlates of rest and activity in Drosophila melanogaster," Curr Biol, 12:1-7, Nov. 19, 2002).

For 10 years, researchers have been studying which genes are expressed during sleep. Nitz thinks that the fruit fly is a great tool for this work, because it's easily manipulated genetically. But James Horne, director of the Sleep ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Meet the Author

  • Harvey Black

    This person does not yet have a bio.
Share
3D illustration of a gold lipid nanoparticle with pink nucleic acid inside of it. Purple and teal spikes stick out from the lipid bilayer representing polyethylene glycol.
February 2025, Issue 1

A Nanoparticle Delivery System for Gene Therapy

A reimagined lipid vehicle for nucleic acids could overcome the limitations of current vectors.

View this Issue
Enhancing Therapeutic Antibody Discovery with Cross-Platform Workflows

Enhancing Therapeutic Antibody Discovery with Cross-Platform Workflows

sartorius logo
Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Lonza
An illustration of animal and tree silhouettes.

From Water Bears to Grizzly Bears: Unusual Animal Models

Taconic Biosciences
Sex Differences in Neurological Research

Sex Differences in Neurological Research

bit.bio logo

Products

Photo of a researcher overseeing large scale production processes in a laboratory.

Scaling Lentiviral Vector Manufacturing for Optimal Productivity

Thermo Fisher Logo
Collage-style urban graphic of wastewater surveillance and treatment

Putting Pathogens to the Test with Wastewater Surveillance

An illustration of an mRNA molecule in front of a multicolored background.

Generating High-Quality mRNA for In Vivo Delivery with lipid nanoparticles

Thermo Fisher Logo
Tecan Logo

Tecan introduces Veya: bringing digital, scalable automation to labs worldwide