Rocks show life on Earth emerged earlier than believed Carbon dating tests reveal signs of life 3.85 billion years ago

From: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Date: November 7, 1996| Author: MIKE TONER | Copyright information

The earliest signs of life on Earth have been uncovered in 3.85 billion-year-old rocks from Greenland a discovery that pushes the date for the emergence of terrestrial life backward in time by nearly 400 million years.

Traces of carbon isotopes in heavily weathered rocks from western Greenland suggest that microorganisms capable of carrying on photosynthesis thrived in Earth's oceans eons earlier than previously thought at a time many scientists thought the young Earth had been steri...

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