Here's a look at what's coming up in the February 2014 issue of JoVE: The Journal of Visualized Experiments.
This month, we have an improved method for studying the behavioral genetics of Drosophila melanogaster, or the common fruit fly. The classical test for Drosophila flight behavior was developed in the 1970s by famous fly geneticist Seymour Benzer. It involves dropping flies through a funnel into an oil-coated cylinder and seeing how far they fall before initiating flight and getting stuck in the oil. Babcock and Ganetzky added several features to Benzer's assay, including a drop tube to ensure consistent entry velocity; removable, adhesive-coated acrylic sheets for easy recovery of live flies; and digital imaging to automate data collection. With these improvements, scientists can assess flight behavior quickly and quantitatively, and accommodate large-scale datasets and genetic screens.
We also take look at calcium ions (Ca2+), which are important and versatile intracellular messengers that mediate many cellular functions, especially in excitable cells like neurons and muscle. Park et al. demonstrate a method for isolating skeletal muscle fibers and directly measuring distinct release events called "calcium sparks". This technique can be used to assess muscle function in normal, aged, and dystrophic muscle.
In JoVE Neuroscience, Hao and Buttner show how the nematode worm C. elegans can be a powerful tool in pharmacogenetic research. These tiny worms are sensitive to many bioactive compounds, so scientists can expose the worms to various compounds and observe the pharmacological effects. Because it's relatively easy to tinker with C. elegans genes, this technique is useful for large-scale chemical genetic screens and for validating targets identified in other screens.
In JoVE Bioengineering, we focus on vocal folds, which modulate the airflow from the lungs to produce voice and speech. Abnormal growths, like polyps, can disrupt vocal fold dynamics and a person's ability to communicate. To understand the fluid dynamic effects of these growths, Stewart et al. place a model vocal fold polyp in a wind tunnel and examine its effects using particle image velocimetry and other measurements. These techniques can improve the understanding vocal fold dynamics, which will in turn advance the treatment of voice and speech disorders.
In JoVE Behavior, we address the effects of aging on cognition. Fuge et al. use a tablet-based computer application to study age-related cognitive decline. Through a series of cognitive tasks, the application demonstrates great clinical and practical potential for detecting and monitoring cognitive dysfunction.
You've just had a sneak peek of the February 2014 issue of JoVE. Visit the website to see the full-length articles, plus many more, in JoVE: The Journal of Visualized Experiments.