Possible fossilized life in Greenland rocks could be the oldest on Earth
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The argument over whether an outcrop of rock in South West Greenland contains the earliest known evidence of life on Earth has flared up again, with a new study claiming the evidence may be much younger than previously thought.
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In 2016 a team of researchers from Australia proposed that they had found evidence of stromatolites being preserved in the rock. Stromatolites are formed by the accumulation of layers of sediment by microorganisms and are often considered to be evidence of early life on Earth.
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However, a new study by a team of researchers from the University of Copenhagen has questioned the findings of the Australian team. The Danish researchers argue that the structures that the Australian team identified as stromatolites are actually the result of geological processes that occurred much later in Earth's history.
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So far geologists have uncovered possible traces of life as far back as 38 billion years. The Onverwacht Group in South Africas Barberton Greenstone Belt is a well-known repository for cellular remnants.
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Even though Earth has been habitable has had surface liquid water and some crust for 43 billion years and the idea that life would emerge quickly if conditions allow is bolstered by laboratory studies showing that complex organic molecules can form under conditions mimicking early Earth was an attractive one.
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