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In JoVE (1)
Other Publications (3)
Articles by Nathaniel Hafer in JoVE
JoVE General
Dissection of Larval CNS in Drosophila Melanogaster
Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University
In this article we demonstrate how to dissect the central nervous system from third instar Drosophila larvae.
Other articles by Nathaniel Hafer on PubMed
NIAID/NIH Radiation/nuclear Medical Countermeasures Product Research and Development Program
One of the greatest national security threats to the United States is the detonation of an improvised nuclear device or a radiological dispersal device in a heavily populated area. The U.S. Government has addressed these threats with a two-pronged strategy of preventing organizations from obtaining weapons of mass destruction and preparing in case an event occurs. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) contributes to these preparedness efforts by supporting basic research and development for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear countermeasures for civilian use. The Radiation Countermeasures Program at NIAID has established a broad research agenda focused on the development of new medical products to mitigate and treat acute and long-term radiation injury, promote the clearance of internalized radionuclides, and facilitate accurate individual dose and exposure assessment. This paper reviews the recent work and collaborations supported by the Radiation Countermeasures Program.
The NIAID Radiation Countermeasures Program Business Model
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Radiation/Nuclear Medical Countermeasures Development Program has developed an integrated approach to providing the resources and expertise required for the research, discovery, and development of radiation/nuclear medical countermeasures (MCMs). These resources and services lower the opportunity costs and reduce the barriers to entry for companies interested in working in this area and accelerate translational progress by providing goal-oriented stewardship of promising projects. In many ways, the radiation countermeasures program functions as a "virtual pharmaceutical firm," coordinating the early and mid-stage development of a wide array of radiation/nuclear MCMs. This commentary describes the radiation countermeasures program and discusses a novel business model that has facilitated product development partnerships between the federal government and academic investigators and biopharmaceutical companies.
The Drosophila CPEB Protein Orb2 Has a Novel Expression Pattern and is Important for Asymmetric Cell Division and Nervous System Function
Cytoplasmic polyadenylation element binding (CPEB) proteins bind mRNAs to regulate their localization and translation. While the first CPEBs discovered were germline specific, subsequent studies indicate that CPEBs also function in many somatic tissues including the nervous system. Drosophila has two CPEB family members. One of these, orb, plays a key role in the establishment of polarity axes in the developing egg and early embryo, but has no known somatic functions or expression outside of the germline. Here we characterize the other Drosophila CPEB, orb2. Unlike orb, orb2 mRNA and protein are found throughout development in many different somatic tissues. While orb2 mRNA and protein of maternal origin are distributed uniformly in early embryos, this pattern changes as development proceeds and by midembryogenesis the highest levels are found in the CNS and PNS. In the embryonic CNS, Orb2 appears to be concentrated in cell bodies and mostly absent from the longitudinal and commissural axon tracts. In contrast, in the adult brain, the protein is seen in axonal and dendritic terminals. Lethal effects are observed for both RNAi knockdowns and orb2 mutant alleles while surviving adults display locomotion and behavioral defects. We also show that orb2 funtions in asymmetric division of stem cells and precursor cells during the development of the embryonic nervous system and mesoderm.
