The loss of an enzyme can reprogram cellular metabolism in a way that protects cells from a specific form of cell death. Paradoxically, the presumed blockade of this enzyme has the opposite effect, as demonstrated by a study from University of Würzburg researchers.

Non-native wall lizards living in Cincinnati, Ohio, have thrived against the odds thanks to an ability to expand their population more quickly than any inbreeding-amplified harmful genes could weaken their chances for survival, new research suggests. An estimated 10 of these European common wall lizards arrived in southwest Ohio in the 1950s, brought home by a boy who smuggled them in his luggage after a vacation in northern Italy. Now, hundreds of thousands – and maybe even millions – of them scamper through urban parks and neighborhoods across Cincinnati. They’re called “Lazarus lizards” in a nod to the boy’s family, founders of the Lazarus retail chain.