At about their 40th day, the genetically altered flies began to falter with Parkinson's symptoms. The flies had trouble keeping their balance and were unable to undertake the usually easy climb to their food. Additionally, the same neurons that die in Parkinson's patients, died in the flies, forming the telltale protein clusters on the remaining neurons. We think, therefore, that flies are an excellent model of the human disease. The short lifespan of fruit flies shortens and simplifies experiments.
Scientists can also easily alter fruit fly genes.
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