In the face of stress, flies unite
Tuesday, December 30, 2014 - 08:00
in Psychology & Sociology
Flies exposed to a stress signal when in a group adopt a more effective response than isolated insects, found researchers at UNIL and EPFL. These typically solitary dipterans interact to generate a coherent collective response. "Interaction within the group increases their sensitivity to the environment, which facilitates decision making," says Pavan Ramdya, lead author of a paper published last week in Nature.