Open-source macOS desktop fruit fly uses real FlyWire neuron data to simulate movement, grooming, sleep, and cursor escape

A GitHub project called DesktopFly creates a 3D fruit fly that lives on a macOS desktop and is driven by a live spiking simulation based on the FlyWire connectome. It visualizes 23,210 neuron soma positions and runs a 668-neuron circuit with about 19,000 real synaptic connections to trigger behaviors like walking, grooming, sleeping, and fleeing the cursor.

The project shows how scientific brain-mapping datasets can be repurposed into interactive software, making complex neuroscience more tangible for users and developers. It points to a growing trend in connectome-based interfaces, where biological neural circuits become not just research artifacts but engines for simulations, games, and educational tools.