tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post7210655661160977511..comments2024-03-27T14:50:47.345-04:00Comments on <center>Sandwalk</center>: Eye Color in Fruit FliesLarry Moranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05756598746605455848noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-3031516375581421892010-06-13T21:42:17.268-04:002010-06-13T21:42:17.268-04:00I think the fact that white-eyed flies are blind i...I think the fact that white-eyed flies are blind is much simpler than pteridines and ommochromes. Although they determine color yes, the fact the whole eye is white is why they are blind. They are white because they reflect all visable light and thus no light reaches receptors. This is why the human pupil is black, it absorbs all white/visable light. Simple physics.<br /><br />As to why red? Some insects are know to see in the UV spectrum or at least see better in the Blue-Violet range. So again Red eyes would reflect red light and allow more blue wavelength light to pass.<br /><br />Remember color is not manifested in an object, it is simply the light it reflects as percieved by our own eyes...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-16496043134985726662007-09-18T20:55:00.000-04:002007-09-18T20:55:00.000-04:00Rosie Redfield asks,Why do D. melanogaster have re...Rosie Redfield asks,<BR/><BR/><I>Why do D. melanogaster have red eyes? I'm asking about the evolutionary why - is red adaptive?</I><BR/><BR/>I'm sure it must be adaptive. It's probably related to the time when fruit flies were hunter-gatherer tribes on the African savannah.Larry Moranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05756598746605455848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-2905387391415937182007-09-18T19:41:00.000-04:002007-09-18T19:41:00.000-04:00Ah, memories of confused undergrads, so close to g...Ah, memories of confused undergrads, so close to grasping the upside-down-and-backwards nature of gene names in <I>Drosophila</I>. That lab experiment you cite is very similar to one I helped conduct in two semesters as a TA for a third-year genetics course at Simon Fraser University. It's a great little experiment to run in a lab.<BR/><BR/>As for the evolutionary why... white-eyed flies are blind, suggesting to me that ommochromes and drosopterins are both involved in vision, perhaps as visual pigments that are chemically altered somehow upon impact of photons. I think of this as analogous to vertebrate visual pigments like rhodopsin. But I'm just speculating here.TheBrummellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08973380652057861796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-74103965741351404972007-09-18T18:32:00.000-04:002007-09-18T18:32:00.000-04:00Why do D. melanogaster have red eyes? I'm asking ...Why do D. melanogaster have red eyes? I'm asking about the evolutionary why - is red adaptive?Rosie Redfieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06807912674127645263noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-29298833250294771052007-09-18T17:33:00.000-04:002007-09-18T17:33:00.000-04:00Books on atheism lead to heightened interest in no...<A HREF="http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5i7IQ1A5_v-4eo-be_nikCRvf7EJw" REL="nofollow"> Books on atheism lead to heightened interest in not believing in God</A><BR/><I>...So why all the interest? Trottier says several books published recently such as Richard Dawkins' "The God Delusion" and Christopher Hitchens' "God is not Great," have brought a lot of people out of the closet...</I>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com