The fruit fly cancer researcher who built his first prototype out of lollipop sticks and straws

(Credit: Courtesy of FlyFast)

By the time most of us notice fruit flies, something’s rotting. 

Or perhaps those fruit flies are crowding a fermenting sourdough starter, or swarming a banana that’s about to become an unwanted mush pile. But, for biomedical scientist Caíque Costa, fruit flies aren’t meant to be swatted—when studied, they’re where cancer breakthroughs may begin.