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Adult Wing Precursor Imaginal Cells of Drosophila melanogaster Absence of Chinmo in imaginal cells suppresses wing growth (left) compared to control wing precursor tissue (middle), while overexpression of the Chinmo gene induces tissue overgrowth, as occurs in processes tumors (right). Credit: IBE Researchers discover Chimno, the gene responsible for the juvenile stage in insects. This gene is present in mammals and could play a key role in cancerous processes. The study, which was published in the journal eLife and led by the Institute for Evolutionary Biology (IBE, CSIC-UPF) and the IRB Barcelona, has revealed that the Chinmo gene is responsible...

A probe of the brain’s reward system looks at Drosophila sex (or lack thereof) and drinking. Moody red lighting in a lab is helping researchers figure out what fruit flies like best about sex. The question has arisen as scientists try to tease out the neurobiological steps in how the brain’s natural reward system can get hijacked in alcoholism, says neuroscientist Galit Shohat-Ophir of Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, Israel. Male fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) were genetically engineered to ejaculate when exposed to a red light. Ejaculation increased signs in the insects’ brains of a rewarding experience and decreased the...

Abstract The aging process is a universal phenomenon shared by all living organisms. The identification of longevity genes is important in that the study of these genes is likely to yield significant insights into human senescence. In this study, we have identified Tequila as a novel candidate gene involved in the regulation of longevity in Drosophila melanogaster. We have found that a hypomorphic mutation of Tequila (Teq f01792), as well as cell-specific downregulation of Tequila in insulin-producing neurons of the fly, significantly extends life span. Tequila deficiency–induced life-span extension is likely to be associated with reduced insulin-like signaling, because Tequila...

Here is a finding that amounts to falsification of Darwinism and confirmation of creationism (limited variation within created kinds), and these authors tiptoed around the bad news with carefully-crafted passive verbs built on the assumption that evolution might explain it somehow, provided you are willing to wait for the vaporware and futureware that is perpetually on back order. “Their functions and origins are often obscure,” we are told. They “emerged” somehow...