There has been growing worldwide concern over the so far unstoppable spread of Chytridiomycosis – a fungal disease which kills amphibians. Some have even predicted that amphibians are on the way out altogether, and indeed a number of species have become extinct within just a few years.

The BBC reports news that the disease has now been properly understood in terms of how it brings about death, confirming the suspicion that the fungus interferes with electrolyte transfer through the skin resulting in eventual cardiac arrest. However this doesn't much advance the fight against the disease. Fungicides are already known to work, but it's completely impractical to apply them to the world's frog populace.

In the UK the disease has been recorded in a few locations, as noted by ZSL. Their page also contains a good introduction to the disease itself, though it only speculates on how it causes death since it predates the recent discovery.