Fruit flies use alcohol as a drug to kill parasites

Fruit flies infected with a blood-borne parasite consume alcohol to self-medicate, a behavior that greatly increases their survival rate, a new study finds. The researchers say the results are the first to show that alcohol consumption can have a protective effect against infectious disease, and in particular against blood-borne parasites. The data raises an important question: Could other organisms, perhaps even humans, control blood-borne parasites through high doses of alcohol?

Read the whole article on Science Daily

More from Science Daily