Neural mechanisms of aggression reveal how fighting female flies focus on their foes

In most research labs, the scientists are on the same page about why they're pursuing a research project. But the Rubin Lab at HHMI's Janelia Research Campus isn't an ordinary research lab. The lab is examining how aggression affects vision in female fruit flies, but Janelia Senior Group Leader Gerry Rubin doesn't care too much about the specific answer. Instead, he simply wants to see if the neuroscience research tools that he spent the last decade building are adequate to uncover the underlying mechanisms at play.