Time Flies Like an Arrow, and Fruit Flies Like a Banana by Cailean Cavanaugh

Groucho Marx probably never said the phrase that titles this post, but if he did, he would probably laugh at how perfect it applies in this oddly specific situation. The TRIP program has passed really quickly, and my classmates who struggled through the memory assay will definitely tell you that fruit flies like a banana. In the end, though, I think the group most excited for our program to end is the fruit flies, who will no longer be given all manner of drugs and put through all manner of stressors in the name of science. 

On that note, I’ve finished collecting data for my independent project, and I’m currently gearing up to present my findings at the TRIP symposium—I would say to wish me luck, but the symposium will be a distant memory by the time this blog is posted. As you may recall, the topic of my research was the effects of overcrowding on the mood and sociability of fruit flies. In case you didn’t see, the crux of my experiment was putting an equal number of flies into a series of ever-smaller living environments, and testing their mood a few days later

Through the social space assay, I measured how close the flies stayed to each other when allowed to move freely in a small chamber. My results surprised me: the flies in the control vial stayed the farthest apart, while those in both the less crowded and more crowded vials stayed closer together. This result ran counter to my hypothesis, and is quite surprising besides: apparently, the flies were least happy and sociable at a middle density. I am not sure why this result occurred, but my best educated guess was that the flies are comfortable when they have plenty of space, and therefore happier and more sociable. However, when placed in crowded environments, the flies become accustomed to crowds and choose to remain close together even when they’re able to spread out more. 

The results of my centrophobism assay were more in line with my hypothesis. Generally, the flies that lived in more crowded environments were more anxious, and crossed the chamber less often than those from less crowded environments. There was an outlier, however: one brazen fly from a crowded vial decided to cross the center of the chamber almost fives times more often than the other flies from its vial. I certainly admire its bravery, but that fly single-handedly warped my data pool, confusing me to no end before I realized that it existed and vowed revenge.

​That fly is dead now. So are all of the other tested flies, but that one was one of them.

Those are my results, but I’m sure you’re wondering how measuring fruit fly anxiety has any practical purpose at all. As I’ve mentioned before, fruit flies have emotions like humans do, so they are a valuable proxy for quickly gathering data to guide future experiments. Currently, millions of people live in crowded conditions around the world, from refugee camps to major cities, but only limited research has been done on what effects, if any, overcrowding has on the physical and mental health of those affected.
​Research in fruit flies could be used as a springboard to direct future studies into this potential public health concern. 

Honestly, though, my test was small-scale, and I would need more time and resources than I have to perform an experiment large enough for high-level researchers to take notice. Despite this, TRIP has been well worth the time and effort it required. I enjoyed working with a group of intelligent, talented students and the excellent instruction of Dr. AmandaPurdy. I’ll leave this program with some practical laboratory skills, including how to use (and more importantly, not break) micropipettes, make solutions, set up experiments, and adapt on the fly when things inevitably go wrong. 

These weeks have gone by quickly, but I’ll certainly make use of the skills and connections I made here for a long time in the future.

Stay tuned for… well, for the next group of intelligent, talented students who will take up the TRIP mantle starting in the spring. They might not cram flies into tiny spaces, but they’ll find some equally interesting ways to experiment on hapless fruit flies.