Rock samples show life on Earth 4.1 billion years ago

Evidence discovered in western Australia suggests life on Earth dates back 4.1 billion years, not the 3.8 billion years previously estimated.

Carbon found in a zircon sample pushes back the appearance of life on Earth by 300 million years compared to previous estimates. Photo: Stanford/UCLA

According to IB Times, researchers at the University of California and Stanford published a report in the journal PNAS on October 19 showing that zircon samples found in Jack Hill, Australia date back about 4.4 billion years.

One of the 10,000 zircon samples contained carbon molecules that were about 4.1 billion years old. The rock was rich in carbon-12, the type of carbon that comes from organic matter, and could be “evidence that the biosphere emerged” 300 million years earlier than previously estimated.

These rock samples are intact, unaffected by the surrounding environment. The discovery is of great significance, Huffington Post quoted Mark Harrison, study co-author and professor of geology at the University of California Los Angeles.

"Twenty years ago, it would have been hard to believe. When we found evidence of life 3.8 billion years ago, scientists were absolutely amazed," Harrison said. Earth formed about 4.54 billion years ago. The discovery means "the planet could have looked a lot more like it does today, with oceans, continents and tectonic plates, than we thought it would have looked 4 billion years ago, a dry, lifeless Earth."

"Life on Earth probably arose almost immediately. Given the right fuel, life seems to have formed quickly," Harrison said.

According to VnExpress