Can insects have human characteristics? Until recently, it was believed that primates were one of the few animals that shared common traits with humans.
However, A study carried out by scientists at Cambridge University has discovered that there are some insects that also have them: flies. But what is your finding based on and what implications does it have in the scientific world?
Flies are smarter than we thought
The brain of fruit flies has characteristics that were thought to be exclusive to humans. Researcher Elizabeth Barsotti and his team at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (MRC LMB) have discovered that the brain of these insects has recurrent connections responsible for learning and memory.
A priori, it was thought that these were unique characteristics of the human brain. But according to this finding, Flies would have more advanced cognitive abilities than previously believed. This opens new avenues for the study of neuroscience and artificial intelligence.
Work with fruit flies has revealed features of their brain circuits that They are reminiscent of machine learning architectures. In this way, the team hopes that the continued study of these patterns will reveal even more computational principles, with the aim of inspiring new artificial intelligence systems.
A decade analyzing the brain
“The fruit fly brain took us ten years of imaging and analysis,” says the lead researcher. During the process, a high-resolution electron microscope to obtain detailed images of animal brains.
This process involves cutting the brain into ultra-thin slices, just 40 nanometers thick, and then injecting them with heavy metals to resemble minerals. Light passing through these slices creates complex patterns that researchers analyze to map neural connections.
Mapping the brains of other animals
Barsotti’s work goes further and already proposes mapping the brains of other animals such as lizards. The objective is, according to the researcher herself, better understand how evolution has preserved certain brain structures. “We want to understand, evolutionarily, what is conserved in different animal brains, how different parts of the brain relate to the habitat,” he says.
Barsotti began her career as an engineer, although she has always shown interest in the field of neurobiology. Following the pandemic, Professor Albert Cardona invited her to join his team at Cambridge, recognizing her skill in obtaining images with specialized microscopes.
An advanced technology… and very expensive
The brain mapping process is complicated, so researchers should use expensive and advanced technologies. The infrastructure needed to store and process the data from a single mouse brain could cost more than £1bn.
However, Barsotti is working to make this technology more accessible. He has developed a robot that makes it possible to speed up the acquisition of imagesso that the process is simplified.
News reference:
Michael Winding et al. The connectome of an insect brain. Science 379, eadd9330 (2023). DOI: 10.1126/science.add9330
