While antimicrobial cocktails are highly effective for defence against pathogenic microbes, the innate immune response may instead employ highly specific peptidic antibiotics to combat certain natural enemies.

In the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, stem cell activity ages female guts but not male guts; furthermore, males with feminized guts develop pathologies but gain an increase in lifespan through dietary restriction.

An analysis of within-host bacterial proliferation reveals that minor "stochastic" variation in the ability of the innate immune response to control bacterial growth early on can result in either survival or death of the host.

Drosophila model reveals that NTE/SWS-associated neurodegeneration is a lysosomal storage disorder accompanied by a leaky brain permeability barrier, abnormal fatty acid metabolism, and inflammation.

Bacterial location quantifications highlights how Drosophila melanogaster larvae discriminate bacteria to isolate and later eliminate pathogens in the anterior midgut through coordinated mechanisms involving reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antimicrobial peptides (AMPs).

Occluding-junctions form a permeability barrier around the hematopoietic niche in Drosophila that controls the production of immune cells in response to infection by shaping the signalling micro-environment produced by the niche.

A history of coevolution increases genetic variation in the susceptibility of Drosophila to viruses, largely by introducing major-effect resistance polymorphisms into populations.

A head concussion model in fruit flies reveals that early-life exposure to mild concussions significantly increases the risk of late-life neurodegeneration, with females especially vulnerable due to reproductive factors.