Our target detection mechanisms collaboration with Paloma Gonzalez-Bellido in Cambridge got funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC). This is really excellent news as it means that we can really dig into the neural mechanisms underlying target detection in background clutter.
By Karin Nordström
Our target detection mechanisms collaboration with Paloma Gonzalez-Bellido in Cambridge got funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC). This is really excellent news as it means that we can really dig into the neural mechanisms underlying target detection in background clutter.
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By Talha Shafiq Today I’ll be discussing the art of dissecting flies for the preparation to conduct electrophysiology. This is quite a fiddly process and it is recommended that coffee isn’t consumed prior to the preparation. Before the preparation begins, the flies need to be hatched. This process takes approximately 2 weeks. In the first week, maggots are placed sealed in a small container and deprived of light. Once the maggots are black, they are taken out (start of week 2) and exposed to light with the addition of food and water in the container. Once the flies have hatched the preparation can begin. To start off, a fly has to be isolated from the container. It is not necessary to wear gloves for this process; However, I have not gotten used to putting my hand into a box packed with buzzing flies. The next step is to isolate the fly into a smaller cylindrical container. This step is very fiddly as most flies will put up a fight to enter the tube. Whilst trying to get this particular fly into the tube (who put up a great fight), the little bug escaped. This could only be fixed with the use of a fly-trapper (AKA butterfly net). After several minutes of fly-hunting, I finally caught the fly and placed her into the tube. Okay, I lied. It took me a lot longer to catch it (ask Marissa). However, once it was finally in the tube, it was ready to be prepared and dissected! The fly is then waxed onto a small stand. This process is also fairly fiddly as the fly moves around as if it is dancing. Once it is finally in the correct position, wax is applied to the back with the head facing outwards, in line with the stand. The head is pushed outwards and nose faced towards the ground in order to expose the the back of the head. The previous step has to be done cautiously to ensure the head of the poor fly is not snapped off! The fly is now ready for dissection. This will be discussed in “Fiddly Flies Part 2” coming soon! - By Olga Me and Malin are waiting for our plane back to Sweden. We have come at the airport in advance and now we need to perform the last navigation task: find the right gate. Hopefully 1 hour will be enough for it. Our trip started by fighting with my fear of flying. It was the 5th flight during the week, so panic attack was not too strong. Moreover, Malin made me look through the window all the time while a take off! It was so great!!! Colourful trees and then souffle-looking clouds! Thanks, Malin! In Finland we rend a car and got lost already in the parking house. Then we have done it couple of more times. Finally we've found the place! That was really great to meet again and at the first time all of these wonderful people and discuss science in a very friendly atmosphere! By Malin Thyselius: I’m back in Uppsala after the most amazing course, filled with 40 enthusiastic PhD students and fantastic lectures from around the globe. Olga been talking warmly about this course since she went and it was all true! It’s been really inspirational to have discussions with my fellow PhD students and to witness lecturers who where in many cases the best in their fields explain how animals interact with and perceive their environment. We also got to visit one of Lund University’s field stations, the labs of the visual group, the labs of the Pheromone group, the amazing wind tunnel and (as Olga mentioned) Falsterbo bird observatory. All and all I’m a little sleep deprived, really happy and filled with much needed new inspiration. A truly fantastic trip that hopefully results in some future collaborations. |
Hoverfly Vision
The hoverfly vision group can be found at 2 locations: At Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia, and at Uppsala University in Sweden. Archives
January 2022
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