Article detects the presence of a specific pancreatic cancer-derived miRNA (pre-miR-132) using the fluorescence properties of biocompatible nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots (NGQDs) synthesized using a bottom-up approach from a single glucosamine precursor. This non-invasive approach allows cancer-specific miRNA detection to facilitate early diagnosis of various forms of cancer.

Article investigating the transgenerational inheritance from both parental lines in zebrafish. Adult zebrafish were separated into female and male groups exposed for 21 days to either a control diet or to a diet containing water accommodated fractions of crude oil. To determine the maternal and paternal influence on their offspring, the authors evaluated responses from molecular to whole organismal levels in both generations.

Article describes how yield losses attributed to plant pathogens pose a serious threat to plant productivity and food security. Here, the authors describe two methods to quantify B. cinerea development in Arabidopsis thaliana genotypes through measurements of lesion development and quantification of fungal genomic DNA in infected tissues.

Article describes how pectin is a complex polysaccharide present in the plant cell wall, whose composition is constantly remodeled to adapt to environmental or developmental changes. Here, authors describe a quick and efficient gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS)-based method that allows the differential analysis of pectin monosaccharide composition in plants under different conditions or between mutant plants and their respective wild types.

Article integrating a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) film recognition unit with a liquid crystal (LC) in an optical cell transducer to incur the selectivity of liquid crystal-based sensors.

Article describes how the biodiversity–ecosystem function hypothesis postulates that higher biodiversity is correlated with faster ecosystem process rates and increased ecosystem stability in fluctuating environments. The authors examined linkages among floodplain wetland habitats, invertebrate communities and their associated traits, and ecosystem function across 60 sites within the floodplain wetlands of the lower Wolastoq, Saint John River, New Brunswick.