fruit flies tagged posts

Humans aren’t the only ones who grow forgetful as they age — fruit flies do, too. But because fruit flies have a lifespan of only about two months, they can be a useful model for understanding the cognitive decline that comes with aging.

A new study published in Nature Communications shows that when a common cell structural protein called filamentous actin, or F-actin, builds up in the brain, it inhibits a key process that removes unnecessary or dysfunctional components within cells, including DNA, lipids, proteins and organelles. The resulting accumulation of waste diminishes neuronal functions and contributes to cognitive decline...

The response we’ve seen in flies to low doses of lithium is very encouraging and our next step is to look at targeting GSK-3 in more complex animals with the aim of eventually developing a drug regime to test in humans.

Fruit flies live 16% longer than average when given low doses of the mood stabiliser lithium, according to a UCL-led study. How lithium stabilises mood is poorly understood but when the scientists investigated how it prolongs the lives of flies, they discovered a new drug target that could slow aging – a molecule called glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3).

“To improve our quality and length of life we must delay the onset of age-related diseases by extending the healthiest period of our lives...

Here’s a reason for men to eat their lima beans -If research in male fruit flies holds up, it might help you live longer. New research suggests that oral administration of prunetin, found in lima beans, increased climbing activity and reduced glucose levels in male fruit flies but not in females. Prunetin is a plant-derived compound that belongs to the isoflavone group.

“Our study provides novel insights into plant bioactive research and suggests a potential to combat aging comparatively simple by the intake of a plant bioactive,” said Anika E. Wagner, Ph.D. “Further studies in mammalian species/humans are needed to validate initial data which were generated in the model organism Drosophila melanogaster.”

To make their discovery, scientists separated fruit flies according to sex prior to ...