Fruit Flies Unravel Brain Mysteries

Scientists have discovered something special from something very small. For almost a century, scientists have used the fruit fly (scientifically known as (Drosophila melanogaster) as a model organism for investigating various biological systems. Now a days they have discovered that the through the fruit fly they can understand how humans perceive the world and make choices. The study of the fruit fly is now considered one of the must studied organism in biological research. Drosophila is being used as a genetic model for several human diseases, including neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's disease. Researchers are also using the fly to study mechanisms underlying ageing, immunity, diabetes, and cancer.

These scientist are still using the fruit fly to get a better understand of how humans and other animals perceive things around them. In saying that, visual information is very important for many organisms. An animal's visual system is what allows it to see, by interpreting the information from light to build up a representation of the world surrounding its body.
What the scientists know about the vision of the fruit fly is its functional architecture brain and eye structure. What scientists do not know is the route it takes to get from the eye to the brain to interpret the information from light to build up a representation of the world surrounding its body.

The importance of Drosophila is clear, and it has a major role in furthering our understanding of the brain. Due to the unique nature of the genetic system of the Drosophila and the advanced techniques now available to researchers, even the most detailed pathways can be uncovered and their interactions unraveled.

http://www.firstscience.com/home/articles/nature/fruit-flies-unravel-brain-mysteries-page-3-1_52219.html