A new class of molecules called acyldepsipeptides — ADEPs — may provide a new way to attack bacteria that have developed resistance to antibiotics. Researchers have discovered a way to increase the potency of ADEPs by up to 1,200 times.

A new species of toad was discovered hiding in the leaf litter of montane rain forest known as Peruvian Yungas (“warm valley” in translation). Like many other toads (family Bufonidae) inhabiting the forest floor, the new species Rhinella yunga has a cryptic body coloration resembling decaying leaves in the area, securing perfect camouflage but making morphological identification of species hard for scientists.

In a new study, a strong overlap is observed between chemicals found in biological samples taken from the human population and those detected in municipal biosolids. These findings suggest that analysis of sludge may provide a useful surrogate for the assessment of human exposure and bioaccumulation of potentially hazardous substances.

A US Geological Survey study quantifies change in fish diversity in response to streamflow alteration in the Tennessee River basin. The study highlights the importance of the timing, magnitude, and variability of low streamflows and the frequency and magnitude of high streamflows as key characteristics critical to assessing how fish communities change in response to streamflow alteration.

New research has uncovered a quality control mechanism in brain cells that may help keep deadly neurological diseases in check for months or years.

Using a plant-derived chemical, researchers have developed a process for creating a concentrated stream of sugars that’s ripe with possibility for biofuels.

At the heart of brain diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease is protein misfolding. At present, there is no known way to reverse protein misfolding. But researchers have found a possible way to unravel misfolded proteins by “reprogramming” a common yeast protein.

You might not think of microbes when you consider biodiversity, but it turns out that even a moderate loss of less than 5 percent of soil microbes may compromise some key ecosystem functions and could lead to lower degradation of toxins in the environment.

The costs of achieving a more ambitious EU climate target are estimated to be moderate. Upscaling greenhouse-gas emissions reduction from the current 20 percent by 2020 to 40 percent by 2030 would be likely to cost less than an additional 0.7 percent of economic activity.

A comet-bound spacecraft that’s been in sleep mode for more than two years is scheduled to wake up on the morning of Jan. 20 -— beginning the home stretch of its decade-long journey to a mile-wide ball of rock, dust and ice.

The pollution of waterfowl meat and their poisoning by lead shot has dropped by 50% since this type of munitions was prohibited in Spanish wetlands in 2001. This is one of the data in a report that also states that the hunters’ compliance with this mandate has been very high.