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- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Scientists have sequenced the entire genome of the common housefly and say their findings should help uncover new cures for human diseases.
The fly can carry some 100 illnesses, including one that can blind.
By comparing its DNA with that of a fruit fly, the US team at Cornell University pinpointed the genes that makes houseflies immune to the pathogens they harbour.
They also found unique code that helps the fly dissolve waste, such as faeces.
Information about these genes could help us to handle human waste and improve the environment, Dr Jeff Scott and colleagues told the journal Genome Biology.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-29596438
The fly can carry some 100 illnesses, including one that can blind.
By comparing its DNA with that of a fruit fly, the US team at Cornell University pinpointed the genes that makes houseflies immune to the pathogens they harbour.
They also found unique code that helps the fly dissolve waste, such as faeces.
Information about these genes could help us to handle human waste and improve the environment, Dr Jeff Scott and colleagues told the journal Genome Biology.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-29596438