The detection of low quantities of alkaloids in putatively nontoxic species of poison frogs sheds light on early evolutionary stages of chemical defense in animals.

A gain-of-function in a new chemical defense resulted in no trade-offs and and independent evolution between novel and ancestral defenses, suggesting low redundancy among different defensive chemicals.

C. elegans nematodes can assess faithfully the threat that H₂O₂ poses by coupling the induction of their H₂O₂ defenses to the perception of high temperature—an inherent enhancer of the reactivity of H₂O₂.

Genetic manipulation demonstrates the costs and benefits of detoxifying glucosinolate plant defenses in a pest insect and its predator.

A transport protein enables leaf beetle larvae to take up and store plant toxins and use them as part of their own defense strategy.

C. elegans nematodes use a sensory-neuronal circuit to determine whether to defend themselves from hydrogen peroxide attack or to freeload off orthologous protective defenses from bacteria in their surrounding environment.

The first genomic view of beetle luciferase evolution indicates evolutionary independence of luciferase between fireflies and click-beetles, and provide valuable datasets which will accelerate the discovery of new biotechnological tools.

Upon detecting a fatal infection using chemical cues, ants puncture the cuticle of sick brood and inject antimicrobial poison that disrupts the pathogen's life cycle and prevents it from reproducing, thus protecting the colony from disease.

Real-time volatile emission kinetics reveal stress volatiles emitted from herbivore-damaged plants can sequentially prime and induce defense responses in undamaged plants following distinct temporal patterns.

Uncovering an link between plant defense signaling and vertebrate feeding behavior suggests that large browsers may exert strong selection pressure on jasmonate-dependent secondary metabolites.