Weird knowledge

[Adahn]

[font=Tahoma]Every once in a while, it's fun to dredge up some relatively unknown fact for others to appreciate. If you've got some obscure knowledge you'd like to share, slap it on here, and we'll all have a good time!

Mine: (kudos if you knew this)

*ahem*
*speaking in a 1970's instructional video voice*

"The brain of a fruit fly larva, when dissected out completely, looks like the anatomy of a human male's genitals, complete with two spherical regions side by side underneath a long shaft. Also, silvery nerve endings protrude from the end of the shaft."

Background:

I'm working with Dr. Burg, who is studying the protein Histidine decarboxylase, which converts the amino acid histidine into histamine, which you may recognize as part of the human immune response. In fruit flies, it is a very important neurotransmitter. In order to stain for histamine, one must dissect the brain out of a larva, because other structures could contaminate the brain with unwanted histamine. I have seen the brains myself, and it was actually the first thing the professor pointed out when he told me about them. I'm going to go dissect some more tomorrow, and I'd take a picture, but the camera isn't hooked up to the dissection microscope.
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