Scientists have found a way to control flies that mate with lasers

Scientists experimented with a FlyMAD laser beam and made the fly immediately mate with a wax ball nearby.

Scientists at Howard Medical Institute have discovered that it is possible to use a laser beam to alter a fly's behavior and make it mate with anything. In the experiment, scientists fired a laser beam directly into the head of the fly and caused its brain to be changed by heat-activated proteins . What is special is that this protein alters the mating behavior of the fly and makes it immediately mate with the nearest object, even if it is a wax ball.

This laser beam is named FlyMAD (Fly Mind-Altering Device) by scientists , which can have a strong impact on the experimental fly within 15 minutes of being turned off. This technique is similar to the previous test, using light to control the neurons of rats, making them unable to mate. However, that method is not suitable to apply to insects such as flies, because the head of a fly is too small to contain the optical cells that scientists have implanted as in the experiment on mice.

This research project aims to find out how laser beams affect the brain of flies and thereby control their various actions. Scientists hope to find different brain regions, which can be activated to make the fly move left, right or forward. Thereby, in the future scientists will be able to control their actions remotely with a laser.

If successful, this project can be applied in many different areas, especially in the military. The army will have special reconnaissance armies, which can infiltrate the enemy information base that nobody knows.

Besides, with the results can help scientists better understand the map and the distribution of nerve cells in the brains of other species, including humans. In the future, we may be able to control the actions of other larger animals with a more complex brain structure.