Science News Roundup: JPMorgan raises clean energy spending goals and Chinese seaweed is oldest green plant fossil

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

JPMorgan raises clean energy spending goals, profit targets unchanged

JPMorgan Chase & Co largely maintained its key profit goals for the medium term on Tuesday, signaling steady but slower growth, and raised its financial commitment for clean-energy initiatives after years of pressure from environmental activists. The largest U.S. bank will target $200 billion in lending and other financial services for green and sustainable companies and projects, up from an earlier target of $175 billion set in 2017, according to a presentation ahead of its annual investor day.

Billion-year-old Chinese seaweed is oldest green plant fossil

Scientists have spotted in rocks from northern China what may be the oldest fossils of a green plant ever found, tiny seaweed that carpeted areas of the seafloor roughly a billion years ago and were part of a primordial revolution among life on Earth. Researchers on Monday said the plant, called Proterocladus antiquus, was about the size of a rice grain and boasted numerous thin branches, thriving in shallow water while attached to the seafloor with a root-like structure.

(With inputs from agencies.)