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Effect of magnetically simulated zero-gravity and enhanced gravity on the walk of the common fruitfly

Research was performed in collaboration with Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, Madrid, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Universidad de Alicante, NASA and ESA. This is the first paper directly comparing the effects on behaviour of organisms exposed to diamagnetic levitation as a way to simulate weightlessness, with those from zero-gravity conditions performed at the international space station. The results received high media attention and were presented as part of Discovery Channel programme “Weird Connections” (August 2009; http://store.discoveryeducation.com/product/show/51375). This paper launched a new approach in ground-simulation research of complex organisms leading to further publications by Larkin on the effects of microgravity on plants.