Scientists think they may have found the oldest life on Earth – 4.2 billion years old

New fossil evidence from rocks found in Canada shows that life on Earth began between 3.75 to 4.2 billion years ago, according to a new study.

If the research published in Science Advances proves correct, the microbial fossils would be the oldest life found on the planet, and could indicate that life began just 300 million years after the Earth first formed about 4.5 billion years ago.

Scientists at University College London have discovered tiny structures inside rocks that they believe could only have been made by microbes, which lived billions of years ago near hydrothermal vents in the oceans.

Previously, the oldest confirmed microfossils were about 3.5-3.7 billion years old.

Fossils in the rocks were first described in a 2017 study by principal investigator Dominic Papineau, associate professor of geochemistry and astrobiology at UCLA. However, some doubted that the structures were biological in origin, which led to more years of work by the team to ascertain how they were created.

The team described a tree-like structure about 1 centimeter wide. The scientists said the structure’s properties make it highly unlikely that it was created through chemical processes alone. It is also similar to that created by some bacteria today.

“These microfossils may actually exist on other ancient planetary surfaces because if the origin of life took such a short time to evolve, and you have that level of complexity, that raises a lot of new philosophical questions about the possibility that life arose and left these kinds of fingerprints behind,” he said. Papino for Vice News. “It creates a lot of new opportunities to turn back the clock on the origin of life and specifically look for these kinds of things on other planets.”

We tell a critical story

Yes, I will give

Yes, I will give

Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this

You are a professional reader

We are really glad you read X Times of Israel articles in the last month.

That’s why we started The Times of Israel ten years ago – to provide discerning readers like yourself with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.

So far we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we have not put in place a paywall. But since the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining Times of Israel Society.

See also  A huge deep-sea insect — ere, isopod — has been discovered in the Gulf of Mexico

For as little as $6 a month, you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel Free adsas well as access EXCLUSIVE CONTENT Available only to members of the Times of Israel community.

Thank you,
David Horowitz, founding editor of The Times of Israel

Join our community

Join our community

Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this