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Article: Rocks show life on Earth emerged earlier than believed Carbon dating tests reveal signs of life 3.85 billion years ago
- Article from:
- The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Milwaukee, WI)
- Article date:
- November 7, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1996 The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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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
sterilized by a lethal rain of debris from space.
"We began studying these rocks because we thought we would find a
geologic record that preceded the appearance of life on Earth," said
Stephen J. Mojzsis, of the ...