Autism Science Fair Project

[jzhangx3]

Hey,
I'm trying to get started on a project about how drosophila are models of autism, and I'm really not sure where to look for resources.
In fact, I'm not even sure what hypothesis I should be going for.

Do you have any suggestions?

Thank you SO much!!

[deleted-224136]

Hello,

This sounds like a really fun project! I did something like this in undergrad using a mouse model for autism. Are you going to be working with an autistic strain of Drosophila. Not all Drosophila would make a good autistic model. Once you obtain the autistic strain you could start doing a comparative analysis and looking at things like behavior, sleep cycles, eating habits, basically anything that can be accurately quantified.

I hope this helps!

[deleted-221307]

Hello,

I found an interesting paper by using google scholar. Here is a link:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2866528/

Try searching science databases that your school might have access to for more information on drosophila autism models.

[caraskl]

Science researchers have conducted studies on the molecular and neurological mechanisms of autism using Drosophila as a model system. You might be interested in studying the NHE9 gene, which is known to be mutated in people with autism. Troy Littleton and his colleagues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology had used Drosophila to investigate whether mutations in NHE9 led to disruptions in synaptic development, leading to autism. Another gene of interest is the dnl-2 gene, which codes for neuroligin. Past studies have found that deletion of dnl-2 was associated with impaired social interaction and communication in drosophilia. Overall, drosophilia has been useful organisms for studies on neuropsychiatric disorders.

[jzhangx3]

Thank you!

I was wondering, does this project require SRC approval? Bc the due date for that is already past

[deleted-132180]

Hi there,

You had mentioned that the due date for SRC approval is already past, but I just wanted to show you this link (in case you haven't seen it) so you can read up a bit on SRC approval and such. https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... _src.shtml. If your project does require SRC approval and you're really adamant about doing it, I think it will be worth it to contact the SRC and let them know about your project and ask them if you are still able to submit your idea for approval even if the deadline is past. It's worth a shot, and if they make an exception, that will be great!

By the way, seems like you are looking into a very interesting idea. Since you are going to be working with flies, are you in contact with a university lab that will be able to help you with your experiments, especially if you want to be looking at something more on the molecular and genetic level? If you have questions on how to find a mentor, Science Buddies has a great link that explains a lot of the process: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... tors.shtml. I think if you are able to get in contact with any local university labs that work on Drosophila and autism (or even just flies would be fine), it would be great to talk with them and brainstorm about what you're interested in. Since they are experts in the field, they will be able to guide you to an idea that is feasible for the amount of resources to which you're going to have access.

Let us know if you have anymore questions!

Connie