Those fruit flies buzzing around your pantry might be pesky, but to a neuroscientist, they’re a gold mine of information. The insects, tiny though they may be, are surprisingly sophisticated, boasting at least 100,000 neurons in a brain that handles everything from navigating via visual cues to complicated grooming rituals.

For years, brain experts have been chiseling away at the daunting task of mapping this tiny insect’s brain, which is about the size of a poppy seed. And now, researche