Calcium signalling - Oscillation, activation, expression

Many cellular events are triggered by sustained increases in the concentration of free Ca2+ in the cytosol. But cells can also respond to oscillations in the concentration of cytosolic Ca2+, and, to investigate the events that are triggered by these oscillations, two groups have developed clever ways to generate them and monitor their effects. In both studies, the oscillations cause activation of transcription factors more efficiently than do steady increases in the concentration of Ca2+. Moreover, the frequency of these oscillations can confer specificity to the Ca2+signalling.