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We all know that for nearly a century, Drosophila melanogaster has been on the focal point of genetics and developmental biology - genetically diverse, can be easily cultured in laboratory conditions, they produce large numbers of externally laid embryos, and of course the major reason being them having a much shorter life cycle. Though humans and fruit flies don't possess similar morphological/anatomical characteristics, it became pretty much well known that most of the fundamental biological processes and pathways that control survival and development are conserved across evolution between these species.  Drosophila genome is 60% homologous to that of humans, and about 75% of the genes responsible for human diseases have homologues in these fruit flies.  Research on Drosophila melanogaster already points to a new anti - cancer breakthrough different from the conventional goal of destroying a tumor. Tumors in fruit flies release a specific chemical that encompass the blood -...

  It's been really long since I've posted here, as I've been busy with my committee, Youth Leaders in Medicine - Bangalore chapter, boards and ah I'm finally back. I'm back again to quench your scientific thirst with yet another amusing topic for today!  Uncertainty clouds everything and Omicron adds on!  The current data on Omicron is still insufficient to make clear assumptions on the exact nature of this new variant, but some things are pretty much clear about this new strain to analyse and understand its essential meaning. This new strain is sending out a message, loud and clear - this virus is capable of far more variations than what was thought possible and it will keep coming back to haunt us again and again. If we see from an evolutionary perspective, Omicron was something which was expected and not anything unexpected. We all know that coronaviruses have adapted to develop several strategies to continue their replication and to infect and reinfect several s...