April 18, 2008
FrankenFlies

And in the "freaky, seemingly pointless, yet somehow compelling science" category we have an experiment that alters fruit fly brains so that females are genetically programmed to think they're male. Look, sometimes you have to do science for its own sake, because you never know where it'll lead.

Posted by scott at April 18, 2008 03:21 PM

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Prof. Henry Higgins is looking smug.

Posted by: Bob Hawkins on April 20, 2008 12:14 PM

Amber and I just commented that Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila Pseudobscura* will always hold a very special place in our hearts. Every damn geneticist in training has to learn about these. Hell, one of the rather infamous experiments with this is to cause their genitalia to grow on their antennae.

No. I'm not kidding. It's been done. So now my making cervical cancer glow because we introduced the luciferase gene (the protein that makes fireflies glow) coupled with a portion of the herpes virus into it doesn't seem all that weird.


*may have spelled this wrong. Am drinking.

Posted by: Ron on April 21, 2008 09:54 PM
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