Research provides insight into why flies have the fastest
vision in the animal kingdom.
Fly eyes have the fastest visual responses in the animal
kingdom, but how they achieve this has long been an enigma. A new study shows
that their rapid vision may be a result of their photoreceptors – specialised
cells found in the retina – physically contracting in response to light. The
mechanical force then generates electrical responses that are sent to the brain
much faster than, for example, in our own eyes, where responses are generated
using traditional chemical messengers.
The study was published today, in the journal Science.