The Citizen Science Project «Melanogaster: Catch The Fly» Wins at Falling Walls Science Summit 2024

The citizen science initiative Melanogaster: Catch The Fly! (MCTF) has been selected as one of the winners at the prestigious Falling Walls Science Summit 2024 in Berlin.

Recognized as a Falling Walls Science Breakthrough of the Year, the project Melanogaster: Catch The Fly (MCTF) allows students in rural schools, educators, and citizens to actively engage in genomic research. By using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism, the initiative aims to study how organisms adapt to environmental changes. MCTF is co-led by the González Lab at the Botanical Institute of Barcelona (IBB, CSIC-CMCNB) and by the SciComm Association “La Ciència Al Teu Món” (LCATM), in collaboration with the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology – Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (FECYT), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, the European Research Council (ERC), and the European Drosophila Population Genomics Consortium (DrosEU).

The project began in 2016 with two schools, and has since grown to more than 15 schools in six regions of Spain, 4 partnerships in Europe and 2 in Latin American countries. By engaging rural communities and providing tools for citizen involvement, the Melanogaster CTF project democratizes science, and promotes direct implication of high school students and civil society in rural areas, in participatory research on climate adaptation, improving participants’ scientific, technological, and critical-thinking skills.

Global Recognition in the Falling Walls Science Summit

Held yearly in Berlin, the Falling Walls Science Summit promotes dialogue between science and society in commemoration of the Berlin Wall’s fall. With its central theme, “Which are the next walls to fall in science and society?”, the Summit shows global scientific breakthroughs and connects researchers, policymakers, and science enthusiasts. This year’s Summit took place from November 7–9 as part of Berlin Science Week.

“We are very happy to be among the winners of the Falling Walls Engage Summit. The Melanogaster Catch The Fly international community not only contributes to an active research project but also raises awareness of the relevance of basic science in the current context of global change” says Dr. Josefa González, the project’s leading scientist. This acknowledgment demonstrates how citizen science may propel not only scientific advancement but also social and educational change.

For more information on Melanogaster: Catch The Fly visit https://melanogaster.eu/ or follow @lcatmon on social media.