Drosophila
Decoding flies’ motor control with acrobat-scientist Eugenia Chiappe
The tiny performers steal the show in Chiappe’s sensorimotor-integration lab in Lisbon, Portugal.
Decoding flies’ motor control with acrobat-scientist Eugenia Chiappe
Seen and heard: The Transmitter’s top multimedia stories in 2023
Our audio, video and photo highlights from the past year help to transport readers into scientists’ lives and research, and the lives of their study participants.
Seen and heard: The Transmitter’s top multimedia stories in 2023
Standout neuroscience news in 2023
Did you miss any of our favorite stories from the past year? Revisit them here.
Reading fly minds in a mini-IMAX theater
The setup, involving a custom fly-releasing “PEZ dispenser,” makes it possible to map out — neuron by neuron — how individual insects respond to an imaginary predator.
Reading fly minds in a mini-IMAX theater
UBE3A’s link to synaptic pruning bolstered by fly study
Increasing or reducing the levels of the UBE3A gene, which is associated with autism and autism-related syndromes, results in altered patterns of synaptic pruning — a process that snips away brain cell connections.
UBE3A’s link to synaptic pruning bolstered by fly study
Full connectome of adult fruit fly completed, with help from citizen scientists
The map, by far the largest one of an entire brain to date, contains 130,000 neurons and 53 million synapses.
Full connectome of adult fruit fly completed, with help from citizen scientists
Wiring map reveals how larval fruit fly brain converts sensory signals to movement
The map diagrams more than half a million neuronal connections in the first complete connectome of Drosophila and holds clues about which brain architectures best support learning.
Wiring map reveals how larval fruit fly brain converts sensory signals to movement
Tying PPFIA3 to autism: A quick take at SfN with Tuan Chao and Maimuna Paul
Work in fruit flies has helped Paul decode a neurodevelopmental syndrome in children caused by rare de novo variants in the gene PPFIA3.
Tying PPFIA3 to autism: A quick take at SfN with Tuan Chao and Maimuna Paul
Fruit flies help reveal effects of autism-linked mutations
Dozens of rare mutations of unknown effects seen in autistic people cause significant changes to fruit flies, suggesting they are linked to the condition.
Fruit flies help reveal effects of autism-linked mutations
What studying worms, flies and fish says about autism
Researchers are increasingly turning to simple animals to learn about autism biology and find leads for new drugs.
What studying worms, flies and fish says about autism
Explore more from The Transmitter
Rat neurons thrive in a mouse brain world, testing ‘nature versus nurture’
Neurons from the two rodents can wire up together to form functional circuits—all while maintaining some species-specific properties, two new studies show.
Rat neurons thrive in a mouse brain world, testing ‘nature versus nurture’
Neurons from the two rodents can wire up together to form functional circuits—all while maintaining some species-specific properties, two new studies show.
It’s past time to stop using the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test
The widely used measure of “theory of mind” needs to be re-examined, along with the long-standing claim that autism is linked to a lack of this ability.
It’s past time to stop using the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test
The widely used measure of “theory of mind” needs to be re-examined, along with the long-standing claim that autism is linked to a lack of this ability.
Robots boost data consistency in rodent studies reliant on mechanical, optogenetic stimulation
Two new devices take experimenter variation out of the equation, the lead investigators say.
Robots boost data consistency in rodent studies reliant on mechanical, optogenetic stimulation
Two new devices take experimenter variation out of the equation, the lead investigators say.