logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2023
27m 15s

Metamorphosis: Drosophila melanogaster, ...

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Dr Erica McAlister uncovers a treasure trove of remarkable insights from the insect world including the innocuous flies that are Drosophila melanogaster. More is known about these flies than any other animal on the planet, as a model for human genetics. And the hoverfly that arguably undergoes the biggest transformation of any animal and how insect metamorphosis could be a tool to track future climate change.

Producer: Adrian Washbourne Presenter: Dr Erica McAlister

(Photo: Drosophila melanogaster. Credit: nechaev-kon/Getty Images)

Up next
Yesterday
The Life Scientific: Claudia de Rham
Claudia de Rham has rather an unusual relationship with gravity.While she has spent her career exploring its fundamental nature, much of her free time has involved trying to defy it - from scuba diving in the Indian Ocean to piloting small aircraft over the Canadian waterfalls. H ... Show More
26m 29s
Aug 18
The Life Scientific: Neil Lawrence
When you think of Artificial Intelligence, does it inspire confidence, or concern?Although it's now generally accepted that this technology will play a major role in our future, a lot of conversations around AI and machine learning come back to the argument over us losing control ... Show More
26m 29s
Aug 11
The Life Scientific: Liz Morris
A frozen, white world at the far-reaches of the globe, where you're surrounded by snow and silence, might sound rather appealing. Factor in temperatures that drop to -57°C and a few of us might be put off - but for glaciologist Liz Morris, that's very much her happy place.Liz is ... Show More
26m 27s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2023
What happens to insects in the winter?
When CrowdScience listener Eric spotted a few gnats flying around on a milder day in mid-winter it really surprised him - Eric had assumed they just died out with the colder weather. It got him wondering where the insects had come from, how they had survived the previous cold sna ... Show More
27m 30s
Sep 2022
What happens to insects in the winter?
When CrowdScience listener Eric spotted a few gnats flying around on a milder day in mid-winter it really surprised him - Eric had assumed they just died out with the colder weather. It got him wondering where the insects had come from, how they had survived the previous cold sna ... Show More
40m 37s
Mar 2022
How high can insects fly?
If you took a fly into a really tall elevator and let it out at the top, would it still be able to fly? And what’s the absolute highest an insect could possibly go? It’s a question that’s been bugging CrowdScience listener Chee for a while, but presenter Alex Lathbridge is on the ... Show More
27m 14s
Jan 2021
In Praise of Flies
In Praise of FliesBrian Cox and Robin Ince kick off a new series of Infinite Monkey Cage with a look at probably the least revered or liked group of insects, the flies. They are joined by fly sceptic David Baddiel , fly enthusiast and champion Dr Erica McAlister and maggot expert ... Show More
38m 51s
Sep 2017
Spider Silk and Super Fly Senses
CrowdScience is uncovering the super-powers of spiders, flies and the most irritating mosquitos. Anand Jagatia meets spider specialist Jamie Mitchells at London Zoo to find out how spiders create such vast webs and speaks to researchers in Sweden about how they are trying and suc ... Show More
27m 11s
Nov 2022
Epigenetics in Human Malaria Parasites (Elena Gómez-Diaz)
In this episode of the Epigenetics Podcast, we caught up with Elena Gomez-Diaz from the Institute of Parasitology and Biomedicine López-Neyra at the Spanish National Research Council. She share with us her work on the Epigenetics in Human Malaria Parasites. Elena Gómez-Díaz and h ... Show More
37m 22s
Sep 2023
Flies - The Enemies of Summer
On today’s episode: Do opposites attract, or do birds of a feather flock together? Today we study our enemy… the fly… All that and more today on All Around Science... LINKS: SOURCES News flash: Opposites don't actually attract | CU Boulder Today Correlations between human mating ... Show More
1h 1m
Dec 2021
Dave Goulson, "Silent Earth: Averting the Insect Apocalypse" (Harper, 2021)
Drawing on thirty years of research, Goulson has written an accessible, fascinating, and important book that examines the evidence of an alarming drop in insect numbers around the world. "If we lose the insects, then everything is going to collapse," he warned in a recent intervi ... Show More
1 h
Aug 2018
Cavendish banana survival; Guillemot egg shape; Unexpected Truth About Animals; Tambora's rainstorm
The last banana you probably ate was a type called Cavendish. But this, our last commercially viable variety is under severe threat, as the fungus, called Tropical Race 4, is laying waste to swathes of Cavendish banana plants across China, Asia and Australia. Recently, scientists ... Show More
28m 8s
Jun 2022
Dipterology (FLIES) with Bryan Lessard
DO NOT YOU SKIP THIS ONE. Listen. Give flies a chance. Everyone loves a bee, but meanwhile flies are out here with all kinds of bodies and adaptations, inhabiting the least inhabitable lands, pollinating your future lunch, shimmering in rainbows, having lifelong love affairs, and ... Show More
1h 12m