Wrong all along? Life on Earth originated long before than previously thought
Evolution of life on Earth (Representative Image)
To date, we all weretold that life originated on Earth nearly half a billion years ago. However, a new fossil discovery has led scientists to do some course correction and push the time scale by 1.2 billion years: Life might have started flourishing on the planet some 1.75 billion years ago instead.
The discovery revolves around the oldest evidence of oxygenic photosynthetic structures found in a fossil dating back to 1.75 billion years ago. The presence of these structures points to a phenomenon where cells can turn sunlight, water and carbon dioxide into energy and oxygen; or simply put: The presence of life.
Why is the discovery significant?
The newly discovered photosynthetic structures are pretty basic, taking into consideration the grand scale of life today found on Earth.
However, these structures are believed to have played a crucial role in the Great Oxygenation Event – a key moment on our planet which helped to fill the atmosphere with breathable air and make it possible for life forms to flourish.
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Published in Nature, the recent study delves into the revelation of fossils found in Australia's McDermott Formation.
Study co-author Emmanuelle Javaux from the University of Liège explains, “They led to the accumulation of oxygen and profoundly modified the chemistry of the Earth’s oceans and atmosphere, and the evolution of the biosphere, including complex life.”
Previous reporting on ‘life on Earth’
Earlier in November 2023, in a breakthrough, scientists recreated a chemical reaction which may have led to the creation of complex, self-replicating structures which eventually developed into living things on Earth.
Watch:NASA James Webb Telescope captures stunning pictures of the universe
A chain of reactions was being recreated by the chemists which is needed to form RNA (or ribonucleic acid) that leads to the emergence of life. Speaking about recreating the chain of reactions, PhD Candidate in Prebiotic Chemistry, UNSW Sydney Quoc Phuong Tran said, “We know whatever chemical reaction created ribonucleotides must have been able to happen in the messy, complicated environment found on our planet billions of years ago.”
(With inputs from agencies)