Fly: The Unsung Hero of Twentieth-Century Science - Softcover

Brookes, Martin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0060936797 ISBN 13: 9780060936792

Publisher: Ecco, 2002

Synopsis

A short biography of a creature that changed science.

There's a buzz in the air, the sound of a billion wings vibrating to the tune of scientific success. For generations, the fruit fly has been defining biology's major landmarks. From genetics to development, behavior to aging, and evolution to the origin of the species, it has been a key and, outside academic circles, an unaccredited player in some of the twentieth century's greatest biological discoveries. In fact, everything from gene therapy to cloning and the Human Genome Project is built on the foundation of fruit fly research.

This witty, irreverent biography of the fruit fly provides a broad introduction to biology as well as a glimpse into how one short life has informed scientific views on such things as fundamentals of heredity, battle of the sexes, and memory.

About this title

Review:

Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana, and biologists like fruit flies. Evolutionary geneticist and science journalist Martin Brookes explores the not-quite-microscopic world of Drosophila in Fly: The Unsung Hero of 20th-Century Science. Instantly familiar to any student of high school biology, the fruit fly is one of the most thoroughly studied organisms in the world; far more is known about its genetics and behavior than about those of our own species. Brookes tackles his tiny subjects with an enthusiastic wit, sharing tales of his own and others' lab work dating back to the 19th century. As his story unfolds, the spirit of scientific investigation shines through, with all its reliance on blind chance and quirky obsessions.

Back in the late 1970's, extreme mutants were all the rage. Take a trip round a hip and happening fruit fly laboratory and you might have been forgiven for thinking that you had stumbled across a fruit fly house of horrors. In the search for new mutants, flies were being force-fed mutagenic chemicals and were leaving a trail of disfigured descendants in their wake.

The interested reader will get insight not just into the scientific process, but also into the life of the fly itself. Birth, death, mating, learning--just about every aspect of the creature's life has been documented meticulously, and that level of detail can't help but yield some juicy bits. Though we find their feeding habits distasteful and their courtship maddeningly complex, maybe flies aren't so different from us, after all. Brookes's enthusiasm is catching, and Fly will send readers running to their kitchens to catch a glimpse of these scientific superstars. --Rob Lightner

About the Author:

Martin Brookes has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology and spent eight years in biological research. He hates flies.

About this edition

• Publisher: Ecco
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0060936797
• ISBN 13: 9780060936792
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224