"Scientists figure out why flies like beer"
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Seven
Well-Known Member
That's deep!
thisgoestoeleven
Well-Known Member
Studies show that flies like beer because it tastes good and gets you drunk. The study was conducted by the University of My Mouth.
They must be close to me in the gene pool..:rockin:
"The flies choose to consume alcohol to intoxicating levels, they will do so even if alcohol is made unpalatable..."
How, exactly, do you make alcohol unpalatable to a fly!? (And how do you know it's unpalatable to them?)
How, exactly, do you make alcohol unpalatable to a fly!? (And how do you know it's unpalatable to them?)
That's some time and money well spent. I'd have guessed they like it because it tastes good and is nourishing. Someone should contact me next time they're giving out beer research money...
Bernie Brewer
Grouchy Old Fart
I wanna know how much of my tax dollars was spent on that study. Then I want those dollars back.
Have you seen a female fly??
I think drinking as much as possible is simply nature's way of continuing the species!
I think drinking as much as possible is simply nature's way of continuing the species!
bknifefight
Well-Known Member
I wanna know how much of my tax dollars was spent on that study. Then I want those dollars back.
I'm sure scientists at the University of CA are funded by the University through tuition costs.
Fixed it for us.
biochemedic said:
Yeah. Flies like to eat poo...so how do you make something that tastes worse than POOh?
BBL_Brewer
Well-Known Member
For being drunk all the time, they sure are hard to catch mid air.
I wanna know how much of my tax dollars was spent on that study. Then I want those dollars back.
This. Exactly how does knowing why a fly may like beer contribute to anything even remotely advantageous to human life?
ArcaneXor
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Drosophila are among the most important model organisms in biology. Figuring out the reasons why an insect is attracted to a natural substance can result more targeted, effective and environmentally benign methods of controlling said insect.
Most university research is paid for by private and public grants under a very competitive process. The NSF, which covers ca. 20% of all public (federal) research funding in the United States, has a budget of only $6.9 billion, and is likely one of the agencies that produces the best return-on-investment for taxpayers in terms of scientific progress, attracting top scientific talent, and preventing "brain drain" to other countries.
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1-Because sometimes the answer is NOT obvious, and the "common sense" explanations that abound in popular culture turn out to be horribly wrong. Personally I'm glad that Galileo didn't just assume that the sun OBVIOUSLY rotated around the earth, Einstein didn't think that energy was OBVIOUSLY not the same thing as mass, and the first brewers didn't think that OBVIOUSLY the bubbly, funny-smelling vat of barley gruel had gone bad and needed to be thrown out.
2-Because figuring out what flies are responding to in the beer is necessary to determine what pathway drives that behavior, which can explain why some things are pleasant to the senses but not addictive, whereas others can be highly UNpleasant, and yet still addictive. Whether you use that to treat addictions or to get your customers to keep drinking crap beer (I'm looking at you, BMC) is up to you.
The great scientific and technological advances of the modern era were built on a foundation of basic research, some of which may have seemed silly at the time.
"Addiction is a purely human condition, but, surprisingly, flies show several key features of it.”
Now that comment is about stupid as hell. Just how would they define, "addiction?"
I'm with Bernie Brewer...I want my money back too.
Now that comment is about stupid as hell. Just how would they define, "addiction?"
I'm with Bernie Brewer...I want my money back too.
ArtVandelay
Well-Known Member
I'm very disappointed at some of the posters comments on this thread.
Pure research is fundamental to modern progress. Findings are often not immediately utilized in a practical commercial fashion directly but the knowledge gained can revolutionize and expand the way we think about things. Saying that it is stupid because there is no point is extremely narrow minded and short sighted.
If it is a disappointment in the quality and thoroughness of said research conducted, then that is another story
Pure research is fundamental to modern progress. Findings are often not immediately utilized in a practical commercial fashion directly but the knowledge gained can revolutionize and expand the way we think about things. Saying that it is stupid because there is no point is extremely narrow minded and short sighted.
If it is a disappointment in the quality and thoroughness of said research conducted, then that is another story
bknifefight
Well-Known Member
And even if this study was funded through federal taxes, the people wanting their money back would each receive a fraction of a penny. Each of you please PM me your bank account and routing numbers and I will gladly transfer a (rounded up) penny to you so you can feel like you didn't lose anything by this research.
Most of what I post here is said in jest...read it with a smile
You're forgetting this is the internets. Serious business to some, and apparently very disappointing.
Exhibit A: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/introducing-my-wtf-else-could-go-wrong-ale-270793/
There's always someone who takes it too seriously and tries to prove a point by thumping their chest. In regards to my post. Yes, I'm familiar with Galileo and his work. I'm fully aware of how university research is funded and the procedures that go along with it. I'm a mechanical engineer and have done many privately and school funded research projects of my own. I understand that each taxpaying US citizen would only receive a fraction of a penny back if they were to give it. I understand many times studies have turned up completely unexpected results that had nothing to do with the initial reasoning behind the research in the first place, and many findings have been by accident. But since you apparently know everything worth knowing about me in a post consisting of a grand total of one sentence, then I guess you can be "disappointed" by my comments as they are clearly wholehearted and all-encompassing of my beliefs. /sarcasm
But seriously, I want my penny back.
bknifefight
Well-Known Member
I just need those bank account numbers Throw in your SSN as well just in case
Throw in your SSN as well just in caseI just need those bank account numbers
PM sent!
I also possess the receptor known as Gr64e.
But you don't see me "...consuming alcohol to intoxicating levels...and then relapsing to drinking high levels of alcohol after being deprived of it..."
Oh...
Wait...
Never mind....
But you don't see me "...consuming alcohol to intoxicating levels...and then relapsing to drinking high levels of alcohol after being deprived of it..."
Oh...
Wait...
Never mind....
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Some things you don't have to see. Some things you just know.
ArtVandelay
Well-Known Member
There is really know other way to take your comment that you want your money back then to assume that you know nothing.
Fixed it for you.
1MadScientist
Well-Known Member
I what to know you is giving flies free beer?...they ain't getting any of mine... I think another study should be done at the government level and added in a bill 'as pork'.
Why do ants come out of the ground on my brew day and get to my buckets before I have half a chance to rinse them off. They come out like flies.
Why do ants come out of the ground on my brew day and get to my buckets before I have half a chance to rinse them off. They come out like flies.
OP
OP
Hex
Well-Known Member
Yeah. Flies like to eat poo...so how do you make something that tastes worse than POOh?
Sounds like you know something I don't know.
Glad you all are having fun with this one.
If it wern't for Drosophila, Acetic acid bacteria might never have found ethanol to consume, and we'd be without vinegar. "Fruit flies or Vinegar eels are considered as a common vector in propagating acetic acid bacteria[2] in nature."
So here's to those Gr64e receptors and the natural process of decomposition!
Research like this is also promising to fight mosquitoes and Malaria, keep up the good work boffins, or die trying...
The fruit flies are taking mine directly from inside the faucets...
Bastards.
Bastards.
OP
OP
Hex
Well-Known Member
Just set out an insect trap baited with glycerol next to your taps. I'd buy THAT for a dollar!
OP
OP
Hex
Well-Known Member
...glycerol fruit fly strips anyone? Pro brewers interested now?
BBL_Brewer
Well-Known Member
I think I'll have to put that to the test next year (I've already irradicated all my fruit flies for the year). I'm going to put a cup of HB and a cup of glycerol solution side be side and see who gets the most takers. Should be interesting.
OP
OP
Hex
Well-Known Member
I hoped you'd be interested BBL_Brewer, I've read through some of your glycerol based, yeast cryo-preservation posts. For the rest: "Glycerol", "Glycerine", and "Glycerin" wiki.
StMarcos
Well-Known Member
I had always thought it was the ethyl acetate, which was some sort of mating pheromone. Can't recall where I read that though.
OP
OP
Hex
Well-Known Member
andysim
Well-Known Member
Ask Bud, Miller, and Coors.
OP
OP
Hex
Well-Known Member
I think this is the actual peer review article:
"Evolutionary differences in food preference rely on Gr64e, a receptor for glycerol"
"Evolutionary differences in food preference rely on Gr64e, a receptor for glycerol"
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