Basic Research in Fruit Flies Leads to Potential Drug for Diseases Afflicting Millions
Friday, July 13, 2018 - 10:00
in Biology & Nature
A stable cell line of Wolbachia-infected fruit fly cells turned out to be an invaluable tool for researchers seeking new drugs to treat river blindness and related diseases. That's because the parasitic worms that cause these diseases are actually dependent on Wolbachia bacteria living within their cells. Kill the Wolbachia, and the worms die.