Highly Sensitive and Specific Zika Virus Serological Assays Using a Magnetic Modulation Biosensing System.

Background: Zika virus has created global alarm because it has been associated with catastrophic fetal abnormalities, including microcephaly, spontaneous abortion, and intrauterine growth restriction. Current serological assays that detect antiviral antibodies suffer from low sensitivity and high cross-reactivity among different flaviviruses.

Methods: In this study, utilizing a novel magnetic modulation biosensing (MMB) system and the Zika nonstructural 1 protein, we show highly sensitive and specific Zika serological assays.

Drosophila Ten-m and filamin affect motor neuron growth cone guidance.

The Drosophila Ten-m (also called Tenascin-major, or odd Oz (odz)) gene has been associated with a pair-rule phenotype. We identified and characterized new alleles of Drosophila Ten-m to establish that this gene is not responsible for segmentation defects but rather causes defects in motor neuron axon routing. In Ten-m mutants the inter-segmental nerve (ISN) often crosses segment boundaries and fasciculates with the ISN in the adjacent segment.