The discovery of a gene that controls maturity in fruit flies could help doctors understand how we turn from children to teenagers, say scientists. A team at the University of Utah found a gene called DHR4 is critical for the timing of maturation in these insects. Knocking out the gene, which controls the production of a hormone, made the fly larvae enter adulthood prematurely. But experts cautioned that not all non-human research could be taken to apply directly to humans. The scientists concluded that the DHR4 gene controls the timing of metamorphosis from a larva to an adult by coordinating how hormones respond when a fruit fly larva has gained enough weight and stored enough energy to begin its transformation. More...
