But understanding the eating habits of those tiny creatures could have huge implications, says Dr. Edward Blumenthal. An assistant professor of biological sciences, he discovered a line of mutant fruit flies that eat and eat and yet still starve to death. By researching these mutant flies, he hopes to identify the genes that are involved in sensing hunger and regulating feeding.
“The exciting possibility is that the problem with these flies lies in the pathways connecting nutritional state and hunger, which would have obvious implications for things like obesity and eating disorders,” says Blumenthal, who has a grant from the National Institutes of Health. “Believe it or not, the control of feeding in flies has a lot in common with humans, so it’s not that big of a stretch that what we learn could be applicable to human health.”
Blumenthal stumbled on the topic by accident. He was studying a fly organ called the Malpighian tubele, which is involved in salt balance, and looking for flies that died on a salty diet. He dubbed the mutants who died “Lot’s Wife.” Then it got more interesting.
“When I started looking at them more closely I realized that the flies died no matter what I put them on — it wasn’t just salty food,” he says.
The fruit flies are fed a mixture of cornmeal and molasses that is dyed blue. That allows Blumenthal to track the food, which eventually gets stuck in a food-storage organ called the crop. The hungry flies try to eat more, but unable to digest the food, they deplete their fat stores and die within a few days.
He has already identified the gene that makes Lot’s Wife different. Next, he wants to figure out where the gene is turned on, which will help him determine why the flies starve. By doing further genetic screens to create more mutations, he hopes to learn more about appetite control.
Hunger, in humans and in flies, is a very complicated phenomenon, Blumenthal says. “We now have this fly that’s really unique because we have uncoupled eating and digestion,” he says, “and now we can maybe use this fly to understand how hunger is controlled.”
BLAZING TRAILS
Armed with a new federal grant, Dr. Charles Wilkie heats up the field of fire retardancy.
ECO ENIGMA
NAZI CHIC
Dr. Irene Guenther unravels the sinister relationship between fashion and fascism.
MECHANICAL WONDER
LISTENING TO THE ANIMALS
IDENTITY CRISIS
What does it mean to be an individual? Dr. John Davis examines the human side of economics.
RESEARCH IN BRIEF
- Trial by TV: pop culture meets law
- Craving answers about appetite
- Oh favorite soda, how do I love thee?
- Text messaging: deciphering an electronic Babel
- Getting to the root of the problem
- Kannscht du Deitsch schwetze
- Innovations in family planning
- Healing pain
- Revving up rehab through robotics
- The other side of the therapy couch
- Marquette bookshelf
- Research at Marquette
Quick Facts About Marquette
| Identity: | Catholic, Jesuit, private |
| Established: | 1881 |
| Location: | Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Undergraduate: | 8,048 |
| Postgraduate: | 3,500 |
| Campus: | Urban, 80 acres |
| Athletics: | 14 NCAA Division I teams (Big East Conference) |
| Colors: | Blue and Gold |
