Biologists studied a piece of rock that was part of the seabed. The sample was received back in 2008. Authors
Further, they found out that the age of the breed -3.75-4.28 billion years - this conclusion was made due to the presence of rare earth elements in the composition. These elements were at the same level as other samples of ancient rocks of a similar age.
Previously, scientists have already explored this breed andconcluded that the tiny filaments, protrusions and tubes that were in the rock appeared there thanks to bacteria about 300 million years before the generally accepted date for the first signs of life on Earth.
The authors of the new work decided to make a 3D modelrock structures. It turned out that the piece had a wavy shape and a high content of organic carbon - a substance that is part of organic compounds. This characterizes bacteria specialized in the oxidation of iron.
The authors believe that the bacteria that lived insiderocks, as a result of life, left mineralized chemical by-products that correspond to how ancient microbes fed on iron, sulfur, and possibly carbon dioxide.
This means that life could have appeared just 300 million years after the formation of the Earth. From a geological point of view, this is fast: approximately one revolution of the Sun around the center of the Galaxy.
These findings have implications for the possibilityexistence of extraterrestrial life. If life arises relatively quickly, then under the right conditions this increases the likelihood of life existing on other planets
Dominique Papineau, doctor and lead author of the study
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