Fruit Flies and Alcohol About Health, Not Abuse

David PesciFebruary 20, 20121min
Associate Professor of Biology Michael Singer says there's a method behind fruit flies' alcohol consumption

Commenting in a piece in The New York Times, Michael Singer, associate professor of biology, discusses the recent discovery that fruit flies purposely ingest alcohol to the point of intoxication, but the practice kills parasites in the flies bodies which would otherwise kill them or their young. The research complements Singer’s earlier work examining the self-medicating practices of certain caterpillars.