December 2012: This Month in JoVE

Abstract

Here are some highlights from the December 2012 issue of Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE). This month, Smith and Thayer combine two classical methods-bromodeoxyuridine (BrDU) incorporation and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH)-to examine replication timing of individual mammalian chromosomes. By analyzing differences in BrDU incorporation, our authors can detect how chromosomal rearrangements cause asynchronous replication between homologous chromosomes of a single cell. In JoVE Neuroscience, McManus et al. study neuromuscular activity in the California sea slug (Aplysia californica), and the movements of its feeding apparatus during feeding. Our authors show us how to isolate the slug's mouthparts, induce feeding programs (such as biting and swallowing, and analyze the activity of nerves, muscles, and individual neurons during feeding. Also in JoVE Neuroscience, Mujagic et al. take honeybees (Apis mellifera) from the hive to the lab, where they allow the bees to scan different metal surfaces with their antennae. Then, the researchers feed the bees sugar water after certain tactile stimuli. This trains the bees to extend their proboscises, in anticipation of sugar water, when their antennae touch particular surfaces. Our authors then analyze how changes in antennal movement correspond to associative or non-associative tactile learning. In JoVE Bioengineering, Raza and Lin demonstrate a procedure for generating encapsulated β-cell spheroids in a crosslinked polymer hydrogel. After recovering the aggregates, our authors can use the β-cell spheroids to study cell- and tissue-based therapies for regenerative medicine research. In JoVE Clinical & Translational Medicine, Lessey et al. use methylene blue dye to identify areas of endometriosis, a condition that causes pelvic pain and other genitourinary problems in women. By staining peritoneal surfaces with methylene blue, our authors can identify areas of subtle endometriosis that might otherwise be missed during laparoscopy. This allows our authors to remove all affected tissue, greatly improving surgical outcome for endometriosis patients. In JoVE Immunology and Infection, we learn that wax moths (Galleria mellonella), also known as honeycomb moths, have a lot in common with us mammals. In fact, wax moths have complex innate immune systems that can be used to characterize microbial virulence factors that are relevant to mammalian infections. Ramarao et al. show us how to raise the larvae and infect them with microbes or microbial toxins for pathogenesis assays. This preview summarizes just a few notable video-articles in the December 2012 issue of JoVE. For full-length versions of these and many more video-articles, please visit www.jove.com.