The argument over whether an outcrop of rock in South West Greenland contains the earliest known traces of life on Earth has been reignited. The research argues that the controversial rocks ‘cannot host evidence of Earth’s oldest life’, reopening the debate over where the oldest traces of life are located.
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Stress, the ever-present threat to health and happy living, is tough on the brain. If the strain goes on too long, it can lead to debilitating psychological problems. Part of the reason, according to scientists, may have to do with a little-known family of proteins called kainate receptors that has recently been implicated in major [...]
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In the blink of an eye, people at risk of becoming blind can now be screened for eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration.
Stroke patients who reach the hospital within one hour of symptoms receive a clot-busting drug twice as often as those arriving later. Researchers call the first hour of symptom onset “the golden hour.” The study reinforces the importance of reacting quickly to stroke symptoms because “time lost is brain lost.”
Stem cells in plants’ growing tips, called “meristems,” communicate via microscopic channels called plasmodesmata. These channels, which transport nutrients and growth instructions, respond to cues such as growth signals or stress by changing shape and altering traffic flow. Scientists have identified a gene called GAT1, which encodes an enzyme that improves traffic flow by acting [...]
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The socioeconomic characteristics of people who play state lotteries are similar to investors who pick stocks with a lottery quality — high risk with a small potential for high return, and just like the lottery, returns on average are lower for those who invest this way in the stock market.