What can fighting fruit flies tell us about our own brains? Junior geneticists explore the common genes of fruit flies and humans and learn how scientists are using the tiny insects to help study depression, anger, and Alzheimer's disease. The video includes a look at how they manipulate flies by using different intensities of red light.

Concepts

insects, insect anatomy, the brain, emotions, animal behavior, genes, alzheimer's disease, visible light

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Use the video to provide historical context, as researchers have studied fruit flies for over 100 years
• After the video, have the class examine the genetics of white-eyed and red-eyed fruit flies
  

Classroom Considerations

• Take a moment to discuss the experiment shown in the video so pupils understand how light affects the fruit flies

• This video is hosted on YouTube

Pros

• Watching fruit flies fight is unexpected and engaging
• The video pays special attention to the anatomy of the flies, making it a useful tool for zoology and invertebrate anatomy

Cons

• None

Common Core

SL.6.2 SL.7.2 SL.9-10.2