Page 91 - VERITAS Vol.2 Issue 2

like cholera, food poisoning, and dysentery. Geographically, blow

flies are found almost everywhere and are richly found in temper-

ate or tropical areas where they can thrive. During the fall, there

are chances of these flies entering our houses so as to find a warm

place. This is to support their lives in the winter. And in the spring,
they come into play thereby appearing in the houses.

HOW ARE THEY USEFUL IN DETECTING CHEMICALS

AND OTHER POLLUTANTS IN THE ENVIRONMENT?

Throughout the generations, different wars have taken place be-

tween various countries and regions. The use of weapons, espe-

cially chemical weapons, was rampant during war times. These
chemical pollutants remain in the environment and affect human

health. In a study conducted at Indiana University, blowflies can be

used to detect various chemical pollutants present in the environ-

ment. This study has been published in a journal titled ‘Environ-

mental Science and Technology’.

According to Christina Picard, Associate professor of biology at

Indiana University, “There are always blowflies about, and they
are excellent at sampling our surroundings. They will taste the en-

vironment as they fly through it, and their stomachs will preserve

the knowledge. To ascertain which substances were present in the

blowflies’ stomachs, researchers employed a mass spectrometer.

Simulants of chemical warfare agents as well as some of the by-

products that chemical agents break down into when exposed to

the environment were both detectable. We would discover it on the
fly if it came across a water source with a chemical agent hydro-

lyzed in the water.”

The researchers discovered that while chemical warfare weapons

do not last for very long in the environment, they are sufficiently

conserved in the fly’s intestines for chemical analysis. Additional-

ly, they were able to detect the chemical warfare agent imitators

82 Veritas Volume: 2, Issue: 2