Unexpected elements is the podcast exploring the science behind the headlines.

It's a real melting pot.

Yeah, the surface has lost happening.

Unexpected elements from the BBC World Service.

Find it wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

This is Discovery from the BBC World Service and I'm exploring two stories each week

of how insects have transformed our world.

You should see my desk at the moment.

It's covered in flies.

There is species called Drosophila Melanagasta.

Now, many people call this the fruit fly.

Technically, it's the vinegar flies.

But this has become a model organism for scientific research.

It is so useful that eight Nobel Prizes have been awarded to scientists who've used these flies.

Over 80% of animals described on our planet are insects.

And yet their appearances can seem as alien or as strange as many a mythic beast.

But some of us who study these wondrous species, both now and in the past,

have discovered a treasure trove of remarkable insights.

These Drosophila have very short lifespans and breed incredibly fast,

making them the perfect candidates for manipulating and monitoring in labs across the globe,

and a little bit further.

I'm Erica McAllister and in this series, I'm taking a peek at these entomological pioneers

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