How the brain of a fly may help explain human behaviour

Image caption, As beautiful as it is complex - a male fly's brain Scientists have managed to compare the fine detail of the brains of male and female flies for the first time, identifying differences they say explain male aggression, courtship and their singing of love songs. The scientists in Cambridge mapped all 124m connections of nerve cells in a male fly's brain, having done the same for a female fly two years ago. The team are clear that the research won't explain differences between men and women because our behaviour is far more complex. But the research could help scientists better understand human behaviour and conditions in which genetic differences affect brain wiring, such as autism and schizophrenia. Prof Gregory Jefferis, of the Medical Research Council's Laboratory of Molecular Biology and University of Cambridge, who co-led the research, told BBC News that the breakthrough was a really important new avenue in neuroscience, likening it to the invention of a powerful new telescope in increasing our understanding of the Universe.