Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Scientists Decipher 3-Billion-Year-Old Genomic Fossils

Posted by Soulskill on from the long-time-gone dept.

hnkstrprnkstr writes "MIT scientists have created a sort of genomic fossil (abstract) that shows the collective genome of all life underwent an enormous expansion about 3 billion years ago, which they're calling the Archean Expansion. Many of the new genes appearing in the Archean Expansion are oxygen related, and could be the first biological evidence of the Great Oxidation Event, the period in Earth's history when oxygen became so plentiful that many anaerobic life forms may have become extinct."

6 of 217 comments (clear)

  1. At last! by lpaul55 · · Score: 3, Funny

    I can breathe!

    --
    ... now back to the bit mines.
  2. Wait, what? by WD · · Score: 3, Funny

    I'm confused. So they were on the Ark or what?

    1. Re:Wait, what? by Black+Parrot · · Score: 3, Funny

      I'm confused. So they were on the Ark or what?

      Why do you think they call them 'Archean'?

      --
      Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
    2. Re:Wait, what? by ColdWetDog · · Score: 5, Funny

      so, gimmee something here, how do you discuss geologic events when people seem so driven to think in terms of their own lifespans?

      Very, very slowly.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
  3. Re:Creationism by Daniel+Dvorkin · · Score: 5, Funny

    40% of US residents believe in creationism. What are you going to say to them, huh?

    As little as possible.

    --
    The correlation between ignorance of statistics and using "correlation is not causation" as an argument is close to 1.
  4. The Great Memory Leak by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    This is what happens when you don't free() your genes after you're done with them.