The infection cycle of E. muscae is both efficient and deadly. The fungus begins by releasing spores, or conidia, into the environment, where they latch onto unsuspecting houseflies. Once a fly is ...

Carolyn Elya, a molecular biologist at Harvard, along with her coworkers, demonstrated that the fungus Entomophthora muscae ...

And the cycle starts all over. The white stuff that engulfs these flies is a fungus called Entomophthora muscae—Entomophthora translates to “destroyer of insects.” It’s an obligate ...