The Wigby lab likes science communication.

​We are involved in various ways to bring our work to the wider public, including via TV, radio, podcasts, print media and micro-blogging, but also through artistic media such as music, dance, video and contemporary art. Here’s a selection of our work, and be sure to check us out on twitter.

Videos

Podcasts

Oxford Sparks Podcast 2017: What can a power ballad teach us about the sex life of a fruit fly?

Papers in the news:
Edmunds, Wigby & Perry 2021 Anim Behav

• New Scientist: ‘Hangry’ male fruit flies attack each other if they go without food
• Daily Mail: Even fruit flies get HANGRY! Insects grow ever more combative the longer they go without food, just like humans
• Unilad: Humans Aren’t The Only Species Who Get Hangry
• Sky News: Fruit flies get 'hangry' without food, study shows
• Independent: Fruit flies show ‘hangry’ behaviour when deprived of food, study shows​​

Morimoto et al 2019 Nature Comms

• Phys.Org: Fruit fly promiscuity alters the evolutionary forces on males

Le Page et al. 2017 Proceedings B.

• Eureka Alert: Family break-ups lead to domestic violence in fruit fly relationships

Bath et al. 2017 Nature Ecol. Evol.

• Daily Mail: Female fruit flies become violent after sex
• The Sun: Female fruit flies are driven mad by their lover’s sperm and ‘HEADBUTT’…

Carazo et al. 2016 Biol Lett.

• Science Daily: XX protection against age-related mutations
• Wildlife SNPits: Inbreeding Shortens Female Life-Span

Carazo et al. 2014 Nature

• New York Times: Fruit fly brothers tend to cooperate
• Planet Earth (NERC): Flies with brothers make gentler lovers
• Medical Daily: Male flies don’t compete with brothers for female attention…

Tan et al. 2013 Proceedings B.

• New York Times: Female fruit flies like one mate, or his brother
• Royal Society News: The ‘in-law effect’ – male fruit flies sleep around but females keep it in the family
• The Mermaids Tale (blog): The sexy scent of a mate…..in flies!

Moore et al. 2013. BMC Evol. Biol.

• Independent: Help yourself by helping others: Nice guys and girls are sexier, study shows
• Daily Mail: Nice guys (and girls) don’t always finish last: Acts of charity could help spice up your sex life
• Men’s Health: The weekend activity that attracts women

Gioti et al. 2012. Proc Roy Soc B.

• Daily Mail: The effect sex has on women: Single sperm molecule ‘affects female fertility, behaviour, eating and sleeping’
• Evening Standard: Scientists discover single sperm can have big impact on a woman (they don’t say!)
• Belfast Telegraph: Sex plays havoc with women’s genes
• Medical News Today: Sex Can Cause Genetic Changes In Women
• Science Daily: Responses of Genes in Females to Sex Revealed in Fruit Fly Study
• Royal Society: Semen takes control of females’ genes

Sirot, Wolfner & Wigby, 2011. PNAS

• Empirical Zeal, 2011: Flies alter their ejaculate to get the best bang for the buck

Wigby et al. 2011, Proc Roy Soc B.

• Wellcome Trust: Female fruitfly fecundity

Wigby et al. 2009. Curr. Biol.

• Daily Telegraph: Flies engage in ‘chemical warfare’ to control mate’s sex drive
• Futurity: Pumping up (the proteins) to get the girl