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The following is the third and last part of a short fictional story about a man realizing for the first time his deep desire to avoid aging and death. We published the first and second parts of the story on the last two Fridays, so check them out if you missed them.

Right after you wake up, there is a brief moment when you don’t yet know how you feel. That Sunday morning, that moment was even shorter than usual. The same anxiety as the previous night assailed me even before I could get out of bed.

The clock on the shelf said it was 11:30. I had slept almost 12 hours straight, but I wasn’t rested at all. Tired and depressed, I got up with difficulty, with a constant feeling of imminent catastrophe. I cast a glance out the window, and I noticed that the sky was clear and bright again. Upon closer inspection, I noticed the streets too were perfectly dry, as if it hadn’t rained for days. Indeed, the sun seemed to be very hot.

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Scientists at Harvard Medical School have discovered that a protein called TMC1 converts sound and head motion into electrical signals, thus enabling hearing and balance.

The findings were published this week in the journal https://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(18)30631...ctitle0120\">Neuron.

Sensitivity to sound has been a powerful evolutionary force, but the precise molecular mechanisms that enable hearing have not been fully identified.

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ROME (AP) — Mount Etna in Sicily has roared back into spectacular volcanic action, sending up plumes of ash and spewing lava.

Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology (INGV) says that the volcano, which initially “re-awoke” in late July, sprang into fuller action Thursday evening by shooting up chunks of flaming lava as high as 150 meters (500 feet) almost constantly.

On Friday, INGV said the action was continuing, feeding ash plumes several hundred meters (yards) into the air above the crater.

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