NEATORAMA HOME | LITE/MOBILE VERSION | BEST OF NEATORAMA

Ancient Rock Formation Suggests Extraterrestrial Life.

By Alex in Science & Tech on Jun 9, 2006 at 1:01 am


Geologists studying rock formations called stromatolites found stippled, wavy markings that some claimed to be made by ancient microbes.

The rocks, widely regarded as some of the oldest fossils, are evidence of a ‘microbial reef’ ecosystem of similar complexity to modern coral reefs, the scientists say.

The rocks bear stippled, wavy markings that many claim are the hallmarks of colonies of ancient microbes. But others argue that the formations, which are more than 3.4 billion years old, are too old to have been made by life, which is thought only to have arisen only a few hundred million years earlier.

Abigail Allwood of Macquarie University in Sydney suggested that because diversity of life had arisen so early on on this planet, life may also have evolved on other planets like Mars (when its condition was more like Earth).

Link


Share


COMMENT
Be The First To Comment!

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT

Neatorama Comment Policy
You don't have to register or login to comment, but it's easier if you do so. Comments aren't censored, but those that are abusive or off-topic may be edited or deleted.


Keep track of the comments with Comment RSS

Lijit Search

T-SHIRTS FROM THE NEATORAMA SHOP

WRITE YOUR OWN NEATORAMA POST
Got a neat story? Share it with the world by writing your very own Neatorama blog post with the Upcoming Queue. Who knows, you might just win something ...

Here's how to get started:
FAQ | Tips