Male or female? In flies, some cells can't tell

An experienced fruit fly researcher can tell at a glance whether the fly she is observing is male or female; a distinct pigmentation pattern on a fly's body (a type of bristle found only on the legs of males) and differences in the genitalia are dead giveaways. But most of the fly's body parts look identical in males and females, and until now, scientists had no idea whether "maleness" or "femaleness" extended to all of the insect's cells and tissues. In a study publishing today in the online, open access journal PLoS Biology, researchers at the Janelia Farm Research Campus of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute find that most cells in flies' bodies are identical, regardless of whether they are in a male or a female.

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