Drosophila

Recent articles

Research figure of fly neurons transforming taste information into movements.

Fly taste connectome traces paths from sensation to action

The map—the first of its kind for an animal more complex than Caenorhabditis elegans—gives neuroscientists a trove of testable hypotheses about how neuronal circuits guide feeding behaviors.

By Lauren Schenkman
30 October 2026 | 5 min read
Research diagram of gene expression.

Fly neurons carry molecular signatures of their origins

The pattern of transcription factors a Drosophila neuron expresses offers clues to its lineage and birth order—and ultimately how neural circuits emerge.

By Alissa de Chassey
25 September 2026 | 5 min read

Fruit flies use memory to track odors

When flies encounter a tasty smell, they stroll in and out of the odor plume—a process that depends on encoding a memory of the angle needed to travel back to the plume, according to a new study.

By Calli McMurray
8 September 2026 | 2 min watch
Mosquito.

What mosquitos lay bare about proprioception

By comparing the proprioceptive systems of mosquitos and fruit flies, Sweta Agrawal aims to uncover fundamental features of the ability to sense self-movement.

By Calli McMurray
1 July 2026 | 5 min read
Magnifying glass.

Researchers retract multisensory learning paper after failed replications

Even though one set of experiments did not hold up, the authors stand by the original conclusions of the work and plan to resubmit it as a new paper.

By Calli McMurray
31 March 2026 | 4 min read
Illustration of ants marching back to an anthill.

This paper changed my life: John Tuthill reflects on the subjectivity of selfhood

Wittlinger, Wehner and Wolf’s 2006 “stilts and stumps” Science paper revealed how ants pull off extraordinary feats of navigation using a biological odometer, and it inspired Tuthill to consider how other insects sense their own bodies.

By John Tuthill
12 January 2026 | 7 min read
Illustration of human figures holding brightly colored connected dots.

The best of ‘this paper changed my life’ in 2025

From a study that upended astrocyte research to one that reignited the field of spiking neural networks, experts weighed in on the papers that significantly shaped how they think about and approach neuroscience.

By The Transmitter
24 December 2025 | 2 min read

Waves of calcium activity dictate eye structure in flies

Synchronized signals in non-neuronal retinal cells draw the tiny compartments of a fruit fly’s compound eye into alignment during pupal development.

By Lauren Schneider
12 December 2025 | 0 min watch
Collage of fruit fly and money.

Fly database secures funding for another year, but future remains in flux

The FlyBase team’s fundraising efforts have proven successful in the short term, but restoration of its federal grant remains uncertain.

By Calli McMurray
17 October 2025 | 3 min read
A drosophila connectome.

One year of FlyWire: How the resource is redefining Drosophila research

We asked nine neuroscientists how they are using FlyWire data in their labs, how the connectome has transformed the field and what new tools they would like to see in the future.

By Francisco J. Rivera Rosario
7 October 2025 | 17 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Diabetes researcher from NOVA Medical School, Portugal, shows how mice used to study blood glucose regulation, memory changes and metabolic processes associated with diabetes are kept in laboratory.

Public engagement can help cultivate support for animal research

The European Animal Research Association's Patient Discovery Project connects researchers with people who have the conditions they study. The learning goes both ways.

By Kirk Leech
6 November 2026 | 7 min read

Brain registers spatial location outside hippocampus

A more complex picture of how an animal’s brain tracks its location is starting to emerge.

By Natalia Mesa
5 November 2026 | 1 min watch
Illustration of worm on top of a purple rock with neurons in the background.

The three-banded panther worm is rewriting the story of brain evolution

The animal has a brain structure all its own, according to a 2026 preprint. The finding hints that brains could have evolved centralization before regionalization.

By Sarah DeWeerdt
4 November 2026 | 7 min read