The Fly Room

The Fly Room was a small laboratory at Columbia University in the early 1900s where scientist Thomas Hunt Morgan studied fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster). It was a pivotal place for genetics research because fruit flies reproduce quickly and have easily observable traits, allowing scientists to investigate how genes are inherited. Morgan’s work in the Fly Room led to the discovery of chromosomes as carriers of genetic information, fundamentally advancing our understanding of heredity. The laboratory's experiments helped lay the groundwork for modern genetics, making it a significant site in scientific history.