Tiny fruit fly could offer big clues in fight against obesity

The tiny tongue of a fruit fly could provide big answers to questions about human eating habits, possibly even leading to new ways to treat obesity, according to a study from a team of Texas A&M University researchers. They examined the taste organs on Drosophila's proboscis (tongue), which triggers the minute fruit fly's desire to eat or not to eat. They found that several factors, especially the creature's internal daily clock, determine feeding behaviors - and these same taste sensitivities very likely apply to humans. "The 'clock' that influences this decision to eat or not to eat is found inside the taste sensing cells, which send a signal to eat." "Once this signal is sent, the brain then tells the fly to eat or not, but all of this seems to depend on the time of day. These clocks have a very direct link to its eating habits." Drosophila, commonly called fruit flies and smaller than a grain of rice, are found worldwide and there about 1,500 species. Their work is published in the new issue of the journal Current Biology