Little tubes could be oldest traces of life yet

• Autores: Colin Barras
• Localización: New scientist, ISSN 0262-4079, Nº. 3115, 2017, pág. 9
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • What's claimed to be the oldest evidence of life on Earth yet found backs the idea that the first microbes originated around hydrothermal vents on the seafloor--but the finding is already proving controversial. Life must have started some time between Earth's formation 4.5 billion years ago and the appearance of the first undisputed fossils, about 3.4 billion years ago. But exactly when or where it arose remains a mystery. One promising place to seek clues is the Nuvvuagittuq belt in northern Quebec, Canada. The rocks here, on the coast of Hudson Bay, are at least 3.75 billion years old, and some geologists argue they are about 4.3 billion years old, just slightly younger than the planet itself