Diverse life forms may have evolved earlier than previously thought
Diverse microbial life existed on Earth at least 3.75 billion years ago, suggests a new study led by UCL researchers that challenges the conventional view of when life began., the research team analysed a fist-sized rock from Quebec, Canada, estimated to be between 3.75 and 4.28 billion years old. In an earlierpaper the team found tiny filaments, knobs and tubes in the rock which appeared to have been made by bacteria.
The researchers say that, while some of the structures could conceivably have been created through chance chemical reactions, the"tree-like" stem with parallel branches was most likely biological in origin, as no structure created via chemistry alone has been found like it. "This means life could have begun as little as 300 million years after Earth formed. In geological terms, this is quick -- about one spin of the Sun around the galaxy."
They compared the structures and compositions to more recent fossils as well as to iron-oxidising bacteria located near hydrothermal vent systems today. They found modern-day equivalents to the twisting filaments, parallel branching structures and distorted spheres , for instance close to the Loihi undersea volcano near Hawaii, as well as other vent systems in the Arctic and Indian oceans.
In their analysis, the team concluded that the haematite structures could not have been created through the squeezing and heating of the rock over billions of years, pointing out that the structures appeared to be better preserved in finer quartz than in the coarser quartz .
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