#drosophila
Flies offer insights into motor neuron disease
ALS is one of the most common forms of motor neuron disease, killing around 1,200 people a year in the UK.
Researchers at the Babraham Institute and the University of Massachusetts have developed a new way to study the process of nerve damage, which occurs in people with ALS and other forms of motor neuron disease.
By studying nerves in legs from the common fruit fly (top image), researchers identified genes involved in the neurodegeneration process.
They hope that this model will both increase understanding of neurodegenerative diseases and help to inform future therapies.
Image credits: Top: Microscopic image of a fly leg, Babraham Institute
Bottom left: (top) fully-functioning neuromuscular junction from a wild type fly and neuromuscular junction showing degeneration (bottom), Babraham Institute
Bottom right: Drosophila pupae, Helio Alexandre Duarte Roque forZEISS Microscopy
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Winner of 2013 Drosophila Image Award
A complex set of muscles underlying the body wall of third-stage Drosophila larva
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The first time you see nuclei,
Light up your ‘scope as you take some notes.They leave tear drops everywhere, as I wail out in despair. You might think me rude but I simply just don’t care. I’d like to make myself believe, a doctorate won’t eat away at me, slowly. It’s hard to think that I’d rather write reports than fall asleep, my patience now is bursting at the seams…
As I fail my class.
I sort 10,00 flies
Just to assess their eyes
It’s time for me to go to sleep
![Drosophila melanogaster - Il Moscerino della Frutta [Infografica]](https://64.media.tumblr.com/632cfc7673f18cbcd20d51cd07bf2653/tumblr_mpcoxdPSZ61sq78sgo1_1280.jpg "Drosophila melanogaster - Il Moscerino della Frutta [Infografica]")
