--- description: New research in the journal 'Genome Biology' finds that house flies may actually improve our health title: Pesky House Flies May Actually Improve Our Health image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt81a4802c82c3ef72/698760a68e06013a24457b11/481592081.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Research](/tag/research/) ## Research Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Those Pesky House Flies May Actually Improve Our Health by [Laura Stampler](/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 14, 2014 3:06 PM CUT  Extreme close-up of a housefly with a specialized lens. (Photo by: Digital Light Source/UIG via Getty Images) Extreme close-up of a housefly with a specialized lens. (Photo by: Digital Light Source/UIG via Getty Images)Getty Images by [Laura Stampler](/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 14, 2014 3:06 PM CUT The house fly is a rarely celebrated insect, but new research [published](http://genomebiology.com/2014/15/10/466 "undefined") Tuesday _finally_ provides the pest with some positive recognition. The house fly (_Musca domestica_) has a genome that could actually give scientists insight into pathogen immunity, helping humans live healthier lives, researchers write in the journal _Genome Biology_. And it’s all because of their, well, gross-factor. Since the house fly lives on animal and human waste, [according to _Science Daily_](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141014085142.htm "undefined"), “\[t\]hey are an important species for scientific study because of their roles as waste decomposers and as carriers of over 100 human diseases, including typhoid, tuberculosis and worms.” Their immunity system genes can be studied to help humans be healthier in toxic and disease causing environments, the researchers add, and detoxification genes could help scientists find better ways to manage toxic environments. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3506185/those-pesky-house-flies-may-actually-improve-our-health/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3506185/those-pesky-house-flies-may-actually-improve-our-health/"},"headline":"Those Pesky House Flies May Actually Improve Our Health","datePublished":"2014-10-14T15:06:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:46:24.868Z","description":"According to new research in 'Genome Biology'","url":"https://time.com/3506185/those-pesky-house-flies-may-actually-improve-our-health/","keywords":["Research","animals","Studies","Science topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt81a4802c82c3ef72/698760a68e06013a24457b11/481592081.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laura Stampler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt81a4802c82c3ef72/698760a68e06013a24457b11/481592081.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"House Fly","caption":"House Fly","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/research/","name":"Research"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3506185/those-pesky-house-flies-may-actually-improve-our-health/","name":"Those Pesky House Flies May Actually Improve Our Health"}}]}] ```