In the science fiction film The Fly, a scientist accidentally transforms into a winged insect that ultimately destroys him. In a collection of science articles about the fly, a team of scientists this week unpacked the details of how the Drosophila melanogaster brain operates — paving the way for a better understanding of how the human mind turns senses into actions, processes thoughts, and, perhaps most mysterious of all, stores experiences as memories.
The foundation of the publications in Nature — a culmination of over 10 years of work by a massive international group of researchers — includes two key components: a “parts list” that names and describes the functions of thousands of nerve cells and a “wiring diagram” that maps how these parts are connected.
Seven additional papers explore the implications of how this data can be applied to learn more about how the fly brain works. Taken together, the studies offer the first complete, detailed look at a complex brain.
