The Australian Stromatolites Could Have Been Made by Microorganisms

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Stromatolites are sometimes considered the oldest evidence for life on Earth. But proving that they were formed by biological and not simply chemical processes hasn't always been easy. Now a team of scientists has taken two and three dimensional images of the microstructure inside some stromatolite from Australia. One of the significant features they found were dome-like shapes. These are very similar to structures made by modern photosynthetic microorganisms as they grow towards the sun. As well as being a fascinating glimpse of early life, this work could also aid the search for life on other planets. The techniques used to analyse these rocks could also be applied to Martian specimens in the future.

00:46 Artemis 1 is go!

NASA’s Artemis 1 mission has successfully reached Earth orbit. After weeks of delays and issues, and a nail biting launch, the rocket marks the first step in a new era of moon exploration, with plans to test a new way to return astronauts to the moon. We caught up with reporter for all-things-space, Alex Witze, for the latest.

News: Lift off! Artemis Moon rocket launch kicks off new era of human exploration

10:06 Research Highlights

The unlevel playing field in women’s football, and domed structures provide evidence for a biological origin of stromatolites.

Research Article: Okholm Kryger et al.

Research Article: Hickman-Lewis et al.

12:39 A mechanistic link for an Alzheimer’s gene

Alzheimer’s disease is a form of dementia that affects millions of people every year. Whilst the biggest risk factor of late-onset Alzheimer’s is age, there are a number of genes that have been implicated. How exactly these genes underpin this disease is unclear, but new research may now reveal how one of them does so, by affecting the myelination of neurons. The authors hope this work may help uncover treatments for Alzheimer’s.

Research Article: Blanchard et al.

News and Views: Alzheimer’s risk variant APOE4 linked to myelin-assembly malfunction

20:44 Updates from COP27

The second week of the 27th UN Climate Change Conference is underway, as policymakers and scientists try to come together to tackle climate change. Flora Graham, senior editor at Nature is in Egypt at the conference and we caught up with her for the latest.

News: ‘Actions, not just words’: Egypt’s climate scientists share COP27 hopes

News: Carbon emissions hit new high: warning from COP27

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