Researchers from the University of Michigan, USA, conducted a new study on fruit flies. According to the results, these insects show important changes when they see a dead individual of the same species.
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As the researchers noted, flies exposed to corpses tend to age faster. In addition, they can also die faster and are avoided by other similar insects.
Study on flies surprised scientists
The original goal of the research was different. In fact, the scientists investigated whether flies developed stronger immunity when they were with other sick people. However, the results were far more surprising than they had imagined.
They found that the deaths of other fruit flies had a direct impact on the lives of the flies that were still alive. Because of this discovery, the subject of the work was changed. “Our lab has long been interested in how the brain controls aging,” biologist Scott Pletcher told the New York Times.
Live flies were exposed to the corpses of others and brain activity began to be monitored by scientists.
The article about the study was published in the journal PLOS Biology. In insect brains, certain neurons are activated when they see an inanimate specimen of the species. The activity of the brain, which processes the sense of sight, increased the most.
animals avoided
Other members of the same species began to avoid flies that had come in contact with death. It would be like giving them an ominous sign.
It has been suggested that animals can speed up the reproductive process to keep the species alive longer. The next step is now to better understand social interactions and to see if it is possible to understand the behavior of people who witness death.
The research paves the way for new interpretations and new studies on the subject. However, the results surprised many scientists in the field.