An international team of researchers has found strong evidence that some of the rock formations are the result of a process biologicalwhich may reveal a secret the origin of life in Earth.
However, tracing the oldest traces of life on the planet is not an easy task. Paleontologist Keyron Hickman-Lewis, of the UK Natural History Museum, made an analogy to represent the difficulties of searching rocks. “If an archaeologist discovers the foundations of a city in ruins, they will know that it was built by people, with certain features such as doors, roads, and bricks.”
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Stromatolites are biological encapsulating rocks that were formed billions of years ago from microbial activity in aquatic environments. This type of rock is spread all over the world. Paleontologists identify ancient fossils in a 4.54-billion-year-old blue marble found in Australia. It should be noted that it is crucial for everyone to know when and where life first evolved on Earth.
For this, the researchers used several techniques in this study He performed several tests to examine the two-dimensional and three-dimensional microstructures of stromatolites. None of these tests revealed microfossils or organic material, but they showed structures and features consistent with biological origin.
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The composition of the rocks might look similar on Mars
The team also observed column-like “barrier” formations, consistent with patterns in rocks known to form during microbial growth. These small voids in rocks correspond to the process of degassing or drying of decomposed organic matter.
Together, these clues form strong evidence for the biological origin of these ancient rock layers, making them the oldest evidence for life on Earth. From this discovery, some hypotheses have been raised about Jezero crater, in Mars🇧🇷 If there was life on the red planet, it probably formed in the same way as in ancient Earth rocks. If the rover perseverance Finding any similar rock, the search for these biosignatures would come under scrutiny.
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