Frozen Flies..?

Have someone ever told you that the cold gets rid of flies? Well, what if there was a new species of flies that can actually survive in the cold. Yes, in fact there is a fruit fly called Drosophilia Melanogaster that has a “smart” enzyme in its system that knows how to survive in any temperature condition. Now I know you are probably wondering why is this a good thing. Well, in fact it helps scientists come up with new experiments to “freeze” human cells. Furthermore, scientists are willing to travel around the world to come up with ways to make organs survive on ice. The reason they want organs to survive on ice is so that many patients can be treated quickly without having to wait for possible donors and transplants. This article also included that not only is this particular fly species is able to survive on ice, but also other organisms such as bacteria, algae, and fungi. Therefore, scientists have realized that more organisms are evolving and becoming more complex. This complexity can be beneficial to the discovery of many cures and treatments for scientists and doctors. Even though scientists have not yet found a way to make these cells and organs live on ice, soon they will be able to because of what they know about Drosophilia Melanogaster.


This article relates to science because it has to do with the concept of cells in biology. The main focus of this article was to explore the process of enzymes and how they are able to regulate the fly’s body to make it survive in the cold. Moreover, the article includes other science concepts such as bacteria, algae, fungi, and organs. When you hear these words, you automatically think about biology. The main goal of this article is to inform readers on what scientists are doing to make life easier for doctors dealing with sick patients who need organ transplants. An organ transplant is basically when organs from one’s body is placed in another’s body so they can survive. The reason why scientists want these organs to “freeze” is so that instead of waiting for an organ donor, they would already have organs in stock. This article most definitely has a lot to do with science.


I personally liked this article because I would have never known that enzymes can control how your body reacts to certain temperatures. Moreover, I felt that this article was worth reading and gave somewhat good information. Even though this was a short article, I feel that it deserves to be on science news, for it does include science concepts, and is a new current event. Overall, the title was catchy, and one could actually learn a lot from reading this article.

Source: http://esciencenews.com/articles/2010/08/19/frozen.flies.may.yield.secrets.human.organ.transplants