A group
of researchers claims to have found the oldest evidence of early signs
of life on Earth in the Pilbara, Western Australia. The findings are
considered a breakthrough that could help scientists better understand
our solar system.
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| Evidence of the complex microbial ecosystem was found in sedimentary rocks in the remote Pilbara region in Western Australia. (Picture from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) |
The international team found evidence of the existence of a complex microbial ecosystem preserved in sedimentary rocks which nearly 3.5 billion years old. Researchers from the University of Western Australia, David Wacey said that microbially induced sedimentary structures or MISS, was found in a rock unit called the Dresser Formation, in the city of Marble Bar, Western Australia.
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| MISS, or microbially induced sedimentary structures, in the Dresser Formation in WA. (Picture from: http://www.abc.net.au/) |
"These sediments may be the oldest evidence of life on Earth," said David, as reported by ABC, on November 13, 2013. Signs of life is basically part of the microbes that degraded that it can no longer see its original form. "We found microfossils and stromatolites are nearly the same age, but in general younger. So this finding could reverse the evidence of life on Earth several million years more," he continued.
Scientists are no longer able to see the cells in it but it is known that a basic carbon material remnants of the cell. "And what happens is during these microbes interact with the sediment in which they live, and they created a little community help each other to survive in the environment which can be very loud at the time," said Nora Noffke, Associate Professor in Dominion University.
She said these findings provide new insights into what microbes. "To find a whole community of microbes and see how they interact with the sediment in which they live. Microbes you can imagine it as the city of microbes and they communicate with each other, to build an environment that they live in such a way that all can survive," she said further.
Meanwhile, Professor Wacey said the Pilbara is an ideal area for this research. "The existing stones in the Pilbara region are stable in the long term. The stones could be the oldest in the world, and well stored in the form of sedimentary rock," he said.
Microbial structure is one of the targets of the NASA's Mars Rover missions is also looking for the same biological signal on the surface of the planet Mars. This finding could be a very important finding for the space research.
"Currently there is the Rovers mission in space looking for signs that the Mars was once inhabited by living things. If the sign of very primitive life on Earth can be found then a kind of environmental microbes should also present on Mars today," he concluded. *** [EKA | FROM VARIUOUS SOURCES | ABC | TELEGRAPH]
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"Currently there is the Rovers mission in space looking for signs that the Mars was once inhabited by living things. If the sign of very primitive life on Earth can be found then a kind of environmental microbes should also present on Mars today," he concluded. *** [EKA | FROM VARIUOUS SOURCES | ABC | TELEGRAPH]
Note: This blog can be accessed via your smart phone.
