A genus of small flies, especially the fruit fly, widely used in scientific research for studying genetics and biology.
From Greek 'drosos' (dew) and 'philos' (loving), literally 'dew-lover,' named for the flies' attraction to fermenting fruit in moist environments.
Fruit flies are invisible heroes of modern science—thousands of genetic discoveries that help cure human diseases came from studying these tiny insects, yet they only live about 2 weeks and fit 100 in a thimble!
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