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Scientists May Have Found the Earliest Evidence of Life On Earth (sciencemag.org)
sciencehabit writes with news that UCLA scientists have found evidence that life likely existed on Earth at least 4.1 billion years ago, 300 million years earlier than previously thought. Science reports: "When did life on Earth begin? Scientists have dug down through the geologic record, and the deeper they look, the more it seems that biology appeared early in our planet's 4.5-billion-year history. So far, geologists have uncovered possible traces of life as far back as 3.8 billion years. Now, a controversial new study presents potential evidence that life arose 300 million years before that, during the mysterious period following Earth's formation. The clues lie hidden in microscopic flecks of graphite—a carbon mineral—trapped inside a single large crystal of zircon. Zircons grow in magmas, often incorporating other minerals into their crystal structures of silicon, oxygen, and zirconium. And although they barely span the width of a human hair, zircons are nearly indestructible. They can outlast the rocks in which they initially formed, enduring multiple cycles of erosion and deposition."
Here. It's right here.
Let's not even include a link to it!
link to article
Haven't found any scientific article yet but here is the news page from UCLA:
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/relea...
In short, they found graphite in a crystal and the graphite has a carbon 12 to carbon 13 ratio which indicates biological origin.
So, the current status is "plausible" but if someone comes up with another explanation it is "busted".
Note that 4.1 Ga is right in the middle of the Hadean period, when the Earth was still settling into layers and the crust and oceans were just forming. No distinct core or mantle yet, and the moon was a ring of rock encircling the Earth. This is half a million years before plate tectonics, before even prokaryota (micros without cell nuclei) developed.
These clues might just tell _how_ cellular reproduction and upwards energy gradients (i.e. life) began, not just _when_.
It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
Using "mysterious" in a scientific publication. Ever.
Yeah, but for your PENCIL.
Get it right.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Ken Ham is curling up in a ball chanting "6000 years, 6000 years, 6000 years!"
I'm not saying it was aliens, but...
You are welcome on my lawn.
Interesting stuff! But I believe in the theory of evolution as opposed to divine creation.
Political correctness is really just herd psychology pushed by insecure people who desperately seek social conformity.
The Pope (and by extension, The Catholic Church) believes in divine creation as well as a the theory of evolution. It's only a few nutjobs who actually believe that we descended from 2 single humans and that the earth is only 6000 years old.
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
Ok aside from the fact that it took me a few minutes to figure out where the article link was (I nearly posted some critique on the editor for not including it), how do you think this is going to work Dice? I mean it's one thing to turn Slashdot into a typical trashy blog, but even they follow conventions of inline links.
What happens when you suddenly include multiple articles or multiple sources in your posts? Who gets to go in the title, the one who paid the most?
I can't believe how hard to use this site is these days.
Sadly, the number of people who believe in the literal interpretation of the Christian creation story is a lot higher than it should be. The tradition of passing on indoctrination from one generation to another is alive and well in the US. And it shows no signs of abating. What stuns me is how many otherwise intelligent people completely abandon their critical thinking skills as soon as you start to question their religious beliefs.
Didn't we come from Adam & Eve and their children, Cain and Able?
Cain and Seth. Abel was killed before he had any children.
Still it's the traditional poorly referenced third party article instead of the actual source article but what else do you expect?
A lot of Slashdot's readership don't subscribe to numerous paywalled scientific journals, nor are they willing to pay $30 for a single article. Therefore, those who do take the time to read the featured article often have to rely on pop-science distillations.