Researchers from the University of Copenhagen have identified a previously unknown protein that may help explain how plants managed to colonize land more than 400 million years ago. The protein was studied in moss, and the new findings contribute to our understanding of plant evolution and life on Earth.

A new study identifies vgll3 as a key gene that promotes rapid growth and early reproduction while increasing the risk of aging and cancer later in life. The findings provide rare experimental evidence for the theory that evolution favors early-life advantages even at the expense of long-term health. Researchers say the discovery could open new paths for understanding, and potentially separating, the biological links between development, aging, and disease.

Today's children are absorbing screens at scales no previous generation has known, during the precise developmental windows when neural architecture is most malleable. A new Thought Leaders Invited Review in Brain Health offers a framework for understanding what that means. Michel Cuenod, Julio Licinio, and Kim Q. Do introduce the criticome: the complete ensemble of sensory, motor, social, cultural, and environmental experience integrated by the brain during critical periods from before birth through roughly age twenty-five. The synthesis grounds the term in six neurobiological mechanisms and reframes autism, schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress, and major depression as developmental rather than purely synaptic disorders.

Elli Theobald, University of Washington assistant professor of biology, aims to connect the biology concepts her students learn in class to real-world issues, something she hopes will help both retain students in the biology major at the UW and help non-majors in the class with their future careers. How common is it for educational materials — such as guidelines or test questions — to include connections to society? In a recent paper, Theobald and her team examined almost 3,000 science guidelines and assessment questions from 16 sources to answer this question. Of the approximately 200 elements — about 7% — that had real-world implications, many discussed ethics and public health issues.