Condron Lab Researcher, Mark Dombrovski, published in Current Biology journal

UVA Biology People Dombrovski
September 27, 2017

Congratulations to Mark Dombrovski, a PhD candidate working in the Condron Lab, who was recently published in the scientific journal, Current Biology.  The article, entitled “Cooperative Behavior Emerges among Drosophila Larvae,” was also reviewed in the same issue. 

The study focuses on understanding neurological mechanisms underlying the emergence of collective behavior in animals including humans.  Dombrovski and his fellow researchers describe a new experimental model system featuring fruit fly larvae where they take full advantage of their simple visual system and form highly organized and dynamic feeding groups. They also show that stable membership in such groups requires prior visual experience, which indicates that social behavior in larvae is associated with plastic changes in their nervous system and is a subject to further investigation.

To read the full text of the article, click here.