CSHL Press News

Fruit Fly Methods

03/01/2007

A frenzy of fruit fly methods featured in Cold Spring Harbor Protocols

COLD SPRING HARBOR, N.Y. (Thurs., Mar. 1, 2007) – For the past century, fruit flies—or Drosophila—have provided innumerable insights into the genetics and biology of development, learning and memory, behavior, vision, and other processes. But for researchers who conduct these studies, the logistics of housing and feeding the hundreds or thousands of flies needed for experiments can be daunting. To address this concern, the current issue of Cold Spring Harbor Protocols—released online today (cshprotocols.cshlp.org)—includes a series of articles for maintaining and manipulating flies in the laboratory.

One of the articles, freely accessible at (cshprotocols.cshlp.org/cgi/content/full/2007/6/pdb.ip35), provides tried-and-true advice on how to maintain fly stocks, set up appropriate matings, and control contamination and diseases. Because flies are considered a premier model organism for genetics studies, the featured article also presents techniques for inducing mutations into the DNA of flies. The article will be useful for biologists starting to work with flies in the laboratory, as well as for existing fly laboratories looking to reorganize.

Other articles published today include methods for harvesting and analyzing fly embryos, as well as protocols for characterizing proteins from a variety of sources. These publications join in a growing library of high-quality methods from Cold Spring Harbor Protocols. For a complete list of freely accessible protocols, please see cshprotocols.cshlp.org/subscriptions/sample.dtl.

ABOUT COLD SPRING HARBOR PROTOCOLS:
Cold Spring Harbor Protocols (cshprotocols.cshlp.org) is an online resource of methods used in a wide range of biology laboratories. It is structured to be highly interactive, with each protocol cross-linked to related methods, descriptive information panels, and illustrative material to maximize the total information available to investigators. Each protocol is clearly presented and designed for easy use at the bench—complete with reagents, equipment, and recipe lists. Life science researchers can access the entire collection via institutional site licenses, and can add their suggestions and comments to further refine the techniques.

ABOUT COLD SPRING HARBOR LABORATORY PRESS:
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press is an internationally renowned publisher of books, journals, and electronic media located on Long Island, New York. It is a division of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, an innovator in life science research and the education of scientists, students, and the public. For more information, visit www.cshlpress.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
For content and submission information:
David Crotty ([email protected]; 516-422-4007), Executive Editor, Cold Spring Harbor Protocols

For access, subscription, and free trial information:
Wayne Manos ([email protected]; 516-422-4009), Director, Serials Marketing & Sales, CSHL Press


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