ANIMALS
What Does Anger Smell Like?
A whiff of a rage-inducing pheromone can turn peaceful fruit flies into violent brawlers.
By Eric Bland
Discovery News
http://news.discovery.com/animals/anger-smell-fruit-flies.html
The scent of a single chemical can turn peaceful, happy fruit flies into flying fists of fury.
For the first time, scientists have found a rage-inducing pheromone and the neuron that detects it in fruit flies. The research, detailed in the journal Nature, could help explain everything from bar fights to species-wide population control.
"Not only did we identify the pheromone that leads to aggression and its neuron," said David Anderson, a scientist at Cal Tech and co-author of the Nature study, "but we were able to manipulate the ability of the flies to increase aggression."
For the most part, fruit flies are a peaceful species. Give a group of flies a piece of food, and they graze peacefully. Give them some land, and they usually share the territory without incident.
For the full story:
http://news.discovery.com/animals/anger-smell-fruit-flies.html
Copyright © 2009 Discovery Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
What Does Anger Smell Like?
A whiff of a rage-inducing pheromone can turn peaceful fruit flies into violent brawlers.
By Eric Bland
Discovery News
http://news.discovery.com/animals/anger-smell-fruit-flies.html
The scent of a single chemical can turn peaceful, happy fruit flies into flying fists of fury.
For the first time, scientists have found a rage-inducing pheromone and the neuron that detects it in fruit flies. The research, detailed in the journal Nature, could help explain everything from bar fights to species-wide population control.
"Not only did we identify the pheromone that leads to aggression and its neuron," said David Anderson, a scientist at Cal Tech and co-author of the Nature study, "but we were able to manipulate the ability of the flies to increase aggression."
For the most part, fruit flies are a peaceful species. Give a group of flies a piece of food, and they graze peacefully. Give them some land, and they usually share the territory without incident.
For the full story:
http://news.discovery.com/animals/anger-smell-fruit-flies.html
Copyright © 2009 Discovery Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
