ScienceDaily: Plants & Animals News

Researchers have developed a novel approach for detecting the activity of calcium within cells. The study demonstrates the effectiveness of a red biosensor that can directly monitor calcium at specific locations within a cell, a discovery that could aid in better understanding of the molecular basis of human diseases.

Researchers have discovered that an FDA-approved drug acts on support cells in the central nervous system to encourage sensory neurons to regrow after injury.

Researchers have identified evolutionary hotspots in DNA where mutations are more likely. The study authors say these findings will help us in the future to predict the evolution of bacteria and viruses over time, which could aid vaccine design and better understanding of antibiotic resistance.

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a potent greenhouse gas, with 300 times the warming ability of carbon dioxide. Due to fertilizer runoff from farm fields, an increasing load of nitrogen is washing into rivers and streams, where nitrogen-breathing microbes break some of the fertilizer down into N2O, which the river releases into the atmosphere as it tumbles toward the ocean. But, until now, scientists haven't had a clear picture of how the process works, what fraction of the runoff winds up as N2O or what steps might be taken to mitigate N2O emissions.

In Pakistan, amphibians have long been neglected in wildlife conservation, management decisions and research agendas. To counter this, scientists have now published the first comprehensive study on all known amphibian species in the country. The little we currently know about the occurrence of the chytrid fungus, which has already eradicated many amphibian species globally, is a grim example of how urgent it is to acquire further information.