This way cool image is a cross section of the developing compound eye of a
Drosophila melonogaster, a fruit fly that is the workhorse of modern
genetics and developmental biology. Using a laser-scanning confocal
microscope, biologists can home in on early events in development. They
are able to see, as we can here, how specific genes direct cells to become
one or another part of an organism. The grail of the group that provided
us with this image is to understand how the visual system and retina
develop. They want to know how precursor cells become photoreceptor
neurons, the specialized cells of the eye that enable us to take in light
and then process it into representative images of whatever it is we are
looking at. Why study a fly's eye? Well, first of all, much is known
about the genetic makeup of Drosophila so its easier for scientists to home
in on the important genes that direct development. Secondly, it can tell
us something about human eyes since humans and fruit flies probably evolved
from the same common ancestor in the very, very distant past, and because
we share a common master regulatory switch for eye development.
This gonzo image was provided by Kevin Moses of the Department of
Biological Sciences at the University of Southern California. This work is
supported by the National Science Foundation.
