MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'drosophila'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:20:46 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4951889&cid=t_122873_139_f&fid=38879&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FVirologyBlog%2F%7E3%2F7Gen_bjEBM0%2F Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Raul Andino Vincent meets up with Raul Andino in San Francisco to discuss the RNAi-based antiviral defense system of Drosophila, the fruit fly, and how it is antagonized by viruses. Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #138 (53 MB .mp3, 73 minutes). Subscribe to TWiV (free) in iTunes , at the Zune Marketplace, by the RSS feed, by email, or listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Links for this episode: Antiviral immunity in Drosophila requires RNAi spread (Nature) Cricket paralysis virus antagonizes Argonaute 2 in Drosophila (Nature Struct Biol) Dicistroviridae at ViralZone TWiV on Facebook Send your virology questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twiv@twiv.tv, or call them in to 908-312-0760. You can al... virology blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4951889 Sun, 19 Jun 2011 18:07:24 +0100 4951889 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3907604&cid=t_122873_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fcan-the-expiration-date-of-harvested-organs-be-extended%2F2010.08.26 Currently, once a donated organ has been harvested it only has a few hours on ice before it “expires.” Lengthening this time period would be an incredible breakthrough that would allow patients in a wider area to potentially receive a transplant and also it would reduce some of the insanity surrounding the time pressures of organ transplantation. One proposed method of extending an organ’s shelf life is to alter the internal cell biology to allow cells to live longer at lower temperatures. The State University of New Jersey Rutgers-Camden just received a $385,419 grant from the NIH to study an enzyme system, AMP phosphatase, and how it can potentially create cold-tolerant Drosophila. The enzyme was originally identified in ice worms as the key enzyme that allows them to s... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3907604 Thu, 26 Aug 2010 12:00:26 +0100 3907604 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3061372&cid=t_122873_139_f&fid=38879&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.rawvoice.com%2Fpmn_twiv%2Fwww.twiv.tv%2FTWiV061.mp3 Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier On episode 61 of the podcast “This Week in Virology”, Vincent and Dick muse about the symbiotic bacterium, Wolbachia, that protects flies from viral infection, the origin of 2009 influenza H1N1 virus, and the lure of original antigenic sin. Download TWiV #61 (45 MB .mp3, 62 minutes) Subscribe to TWiV in iTunes, by the RSS feed, or by email Links for this episode: Variation in antiviral protection mediated by different Wolbachia strains in Drosophila simulans Wolbachia induces resistance to RNA virus infections in Drosophila Wolbachia reduces blood-feeding success in Dengue mosquito Did 2009 H1N1 influenza come from a laboratory? Influenza original antigenic sin in mice but not in humans Dengue outbreak in Mexico (thanks Swiss co... virology blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3061372 Sun, 06 Dec 2009 14:35:07 +0100 3061372 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2005312&cid=t_122873_86_f&fid=34468&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbrowsing.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F11%2Fdrosophila-resources.html Here are some web resources relating to the genetics of Drosophila, the fruit fly:Berkeley Drosophila Genome ProjectDrosophila Heterochromatin Genome ProjectEnsemblFlybase Homophila (thanks to Max Casu for drawing this to my attention) - compares human and fly genomes. Care with spelling if typing in the URL!Interactive Fly - this has an A-Z index of genesNCBI Entrez , perhaps in particular: Gene; Nucleotide; SNP; Taxonomy. Gene searches Flybase (see above) and provides links to PubMedNCBI Map Viewer, graphical view of the D. melanogaster genomeWWW Virtual Library: Drosophila (Source: Browsing) Browsing blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2005312 Thu, 27 Nov 2008 15:17:00 +0100 2005312 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2512391&cid=t_122873_131_f&fid=34991&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fscienceblogs%2Fevolgen%2F%7E3%2FiArtq2zvICk%2Fthey_are_not_fruit_flies.php In the recent kerfuffle over Sarah Palin's disparaging remarks about "fruit fly" research, an important point was missed by the general public, scientists, and even Drosophila geneticists: she wasn't talking about Drosophila. Now, this point has been clarified by a few people (notably Mike the Mad Biologist), and I think people are starting to get it. But it was remarkable how people automatically assumed she was talking about Drosophila. Okay, maybe it wasn't so remarkable, given that even Drosophila researchers refer to these little insects as "fruit flies". The problem with that nomenclature is that Drosophila are not fruit flies. The olive fruit flies to which Palin was referring are true fruit flies (Tephritids), and these guys are major agricultural pests. She was actually criticizi... evolgen blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2512391 Mon, 27 Oct 2008 14:00:00 +0100 2512391 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1642703&cid=t_122873_131_f&fid=34991&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2Fscienceblogs%2Fevolgen%2F%7E3%2F341571086%2Fnew_gene_makes_flies_less_gay.php We all know that Drosophila are the gayest bunch of gays that ever gayed up genetics. This is especially true when you create mutations in fruitless (nee fruity), "the gay gene". Male flies with mutations in fruitless will try to get it on with other males (e.g., doi:10.1016/S0092-8674(00)81802-4). That's gay! But fruitless is an old school gene that needs to be fucked up to turn the flies gay (doi:10.1093/molbev/msj070; the first author on that paper is, I shit you not, named Gailey). Drosophila really aren't as gay as they are made to appear in the articles describing fruitless mutants. But the males are still kind of in to dudes, as is shown by a new paper from Manyuan Long's group (doi:10.1073/pnas.0800693105). Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Sourc... evolgen blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1642703 Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:00:00 +0100 1642703 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1391075&cid=t_122873_131_f&fid=34991&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2Fscienceblogs%2Fevolgen%2F%7E3%2F275394530%2Fsaving_the_name_of_drosophila.php The Drosophila genus is paraphyletic. That means there are species nested within the phylogeny of the genus that belong to other genera. Or, in other words, there are species descended from the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of all Drosophila species that belong to different genera. If that doesn't make sense, just look at the tree. A paraphyletic genus is a no-no in taxonomy. There are two ways to deal with the problem. First, the genera nested within the Drosophila phylogeny can be redesignated into the Drosophila genus. That's not going to happen because the genus is too freakin' big to begin with. The second option is to split the Drosophila genus into multiple genera. The genus is already split into two subgenera, Drosophila and Sophophora. D. melanogaster, the best known Drosoph... evolgen blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1391075 Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:00:00 +0100 1391075 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1386859&cid=t_122873_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2F274260212%2F  Drosophila flies I just loved this article along with accompanying videos appearing in the BBC news website. Scientists have managed to give genetically modified fruit flies a sex-change just from a pulse of light to group of 2,000 brain cells responsible for directing courtship displays. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7350403.stm Oh that it was so easy in humans! Elaine Warburton  www.geneticsandhealth.com Tags: , Drosophila, Genes, Genetic adaptationsShare This (Source: Genetics and Health) Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1386859 Sun, 20 Apr 2008 20:49:29 +0100 1386859 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1311107&cid=t_122873_131_f&fid=34991&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2Fscienceblogs%2Fevolgen%2F%7E3%2F253808217%2Fsleep_sex_and_drosophila.php 60 Minutes ran a special on the science of sleep this week. The special included an interview with Scott McRobert about sleep deprivation and mating in Drosophila. So if lack of sleep impacts our appetite, our metabolism, our memory, and how we age, is there anything it doesn't affect? How about sex? Scientist Scott McRobert at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia is asking that very question, studying fruit flies. McRobert could be seen showing Lesley Stahl a fly in a vial, which he then sucked up in a pooter. He then placed that male, along with a female, in a small dish. Stahl watched as McRobert used a bizarre contraption to suck a male drosophila (fruit fly) out of a vial and put him into a little dish with a female. McRobert does the play by play as the male courts the female.... evolgen blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1311107 Tue, 18 Mar 2008 20:00:00 +0100 1311107 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1194806&cid=t_122873_131_f&fid=34991&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2Fscienceblogs%2Fevolgen%2F%7E3%2F227303453%2Fphylogeny_friday_1_february_20.php Paraphyly in Drosophila Many biology students have hands-on experience working with Drosophila melanogaster. This little fly is one of the major workhorses of genetics. It may not be for long. That's not to say people will stop working with the fly, but the fly may no longer be named "Drosophila melanogaster". That's because the Drosophila genus is paraphyletic and should be split into multiple genera. Oh, and D. melanogaster doesn't hold the rights to the name Drosophila. Those rights belong to D. funebris, the first species named in the Drosophila genus. (Christopher Taylor at the Catalogue of Organisms has more.) So, if D. melanogaster loses the rights to the genus name "Drosophila", what will it be named? Well, the Drosophila genus can be divided into two subgenera. One of those subg... evolgen blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1194806 Fri, 01 Feb 2008 15:00:00 +0100 1194806 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1192800&cid=t_122873_132_f&fid=35006&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnsaunders.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F02%2F01%2Fwhats-in-a-gene-name%2F I’ve posted before on standard names (or lack thereof) for genes and proteins and in particular, the whacky names of which biologists are so fond. Hopefully they now realise that in the age of bioinformatics - where we have to find stuff easily - descriptions such as ken and barbie, scott of the antarctic or glass-bottom boat are, um, unhelpful to say the least. So hot on the heels of my “man, you can publish anything in bioinformatics these days” post comes: Seringhaus, M. et al. (2008). Uncovering trends in gene naming. Genome Biology 9:401 Abstract | DOI 10.1186/gb-2008-9-1-401 We take stock of current genetic nomenclature and attempt to organize strange and notable gene names. We categorize, for instance, those that involve a naming system transferred from another co... What You're Doing Is Rather Desperate blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1192800 Thu, 31 Jan 2008 23:42:45 +0100 1192800 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=847328&cid=t_122873_131_f&fid=34991&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2Fscienceblogs%2Fevolgen%2F%7E3%2F153015804%2Fthat_crab_has_flies.php Among my many pet peeves are when people refer to Drosophila as fruit flies (they are not). Real fruit flies (Tephritids) feed, mate, and lay their eggs on live fruit -- for this reason, many are agricultural pests (e.g., the medfly). Drosophila, on the other hand, feed on the micro-organisms found primarily on rotting fruit or other rotting plant parts. For this reason, I like to think of Drosophila as one of the most refined insects because they prefer fermented sugars (like beers and wines). While the majority of Drosophila feed on rotting plant material, some have found an even more exotic host: crabs. Yes, just like you can have "crabs" living in your nether regions (well, hopefully not you, per se), crabs can have flies living on them. In this fascinating review Stensmyra and Hansso... evolgen blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=847328 Thu, 06 Sep 2007 16:30:00 +0100 847328 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=690044&cid=t_122873_131_f&fid=34991&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2Fscienceblogs%2Fevolgen%2F%7E3%2F127067031%2Fdrosophila_smell_and_taste.php Sensing and reacting to one's environment is necessary for survival. Different species have different expertise in regards to how they sense their environment. Humans, for example, have reduced olfactory abilities relative to other mammals, but excellent color vision. Cats have good night vision, but poor vision during day light. These proficiencies and deficiencies in sensory abilities hold for non-mammalian taxa as well. Olfaction and taste have been well studied in a variety of taxa. Amongst the invertebrates, the genes responsible for olfactory and gustatory Drosophila are one of the best studied systems. Much of the recent work mapping genes to functions in the olfactory system has been done in John Carlson's lab, where they have figured out which genes are expressed in which neurons... evolgen blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=690044 Fri, 22 Jun 2007 17:30:27 +0100 690044 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=651118&cid=t_122873_131_f&fid=34991&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2Fscienceblogs%2Fevolgen%2F%7E3%2F121430980%2Flots_of_pretty_wings_in_plos_o.php In a new article in PLoS ONE, a group of researchers led by Kevin Edwards present a collection of images of Hawaiian Drosophila wings. Here's one figure from the paper showing the evolutionary relationships of a bunch of different clades and some representative wing patterns: The authors point out that, with the availability of the Drosophila grimshawi genome sequence, biologists can now use molecular techniques to understand the genetic changes that give rise to the various pigmentation patterns. Edwards KA, Doescher LT, Kaneshiro KY, Yamamoto D. 2007. A database of wing diversity in the Hawaiian Drosophila. PLoS ONE 2: e487 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0000487 Read the comments on this post... (Source: evolgen) evolgen blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=651118 Fri, 01 Jun 2007 18:00:00 +0100 651118