Scientists Claim These Microfossils Could Indicate Earth’s Oldest Life

Microfossils from billions of years ago discovered in what is now Canada suggests it may be Earth's oldest life, as per a new study.

If proven to be the oldest fossils, the discovery may change our understanding that life as we know it may have developed earlier than previously thought.

Oldest Fossils

In a new study published in the journal Science Advances on April 13, scientists from the University College London (UCL) found new fossil evidence consisting of microscopic structures inside rocks.

They believed that it could only be formed by microbes living near hydrothermal vents in the oceans billions of years ago.

Based on carbon dating technology, the fossils approximately date back between 3.7 and 4.2 billion years ago; which means that microscopic life may have started to emerge 300 years after the Earth formed 4.5 billion years ago.

If proven, the ground-breaking discovery will surpass the previously confirmed 3.5 to 3.7-billion-year old microfossils.

The new study had its roots in a separate 2017 research led by Dominic Papineau, an associate professor in astrobiology and geochemistry at UCL.

During the previous study, Papineau and his team discovered the fossils, but some members of the scientific community doubted their biological nature.

This curiosity has led to further years of research by the same team, which led to the latest developments.

Origins of Life on Earth

Prior to the new study, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) hinted that there is some unconfirmed evidence that biological activity took place on Earth more than 3.8 billion years ago, a period also called the "late heavy bombardment."

NASA said the initial phase of Earth's existence was marked by violent and continuous comet and asteroid impacts, which extremely caused the warming of the planet, preventing the formation of life.

The Earth's climatic conditions at the time are conventionally known as "anti-life" due to the absence of significant water and carbon dioxide, says NASA.

It is also during this period when the solar system, including the Sun and our neighboring planets, just started to form 4.6 billion years ago.

This entails that the atmospheric and geological stability of Earth as we know it today is still out of the picture.

Implications: Earth's Oldest Life

The implications of the discovery of the potentially oldest life on Earth, whether proven or not, is substantial since it may not only lead to further research on the same subject matter.

Hence, it would also pave the way for previous study remodeling their approach concerning the emergence and development of life on Earth.

In a previous research article posted on the site of the Research Outreach (RO) organization in 2019, the origin of life on Earth has been long debated from a scientific point of view.

These debates were grounded in several theories.

One of the standing hypotheses claimed by RO is that the birthplace of life came from a nuclear geyser where there is a constant circulation of energy and material.