Fruit Flies and Human DNA: What Insects Can Tell Researchers

A fruit fly lands on a compost heap.
Olivia Jones, Daily Wildcat

According to Dr. Luciano Matzkin, associate professor of entomology, fruit flies are utilized by researchers to study genes which might cause human diseases. Dr. Matzkin has published more than 30 research papers on topics such as the study of genome editing and ecology diversity in fruit fly species. He shared his knack for fruit flies at the Arizona Insect Festival on Oct. 1.