Fly Brains

Toxicants in water supply, food, household products (packaging, non-stick coating, and stain repellents) bioaccumulate in the food chain, plants, animals, and people. Some of those chemicals are carcinogens, immune stressors, and endocrine disruptors, affecting the delicate hormonal balance critical for sexual differentiation and organogenesis. Do they affect females and males differently, and what are the consequences of chronic exposures? We expose female and male adolescent fruit flies, then microdissect their brains and quantify gene activity to better understand effects of pervasive and persistent industrial chemicals on developing brain and physiology of each sex.

*For more information about this project please contact: jeanne@bozinstitute.org