Life on Earth likely started 4.1 billion years ago—much earlier than scientists thought UCLA geochemists have found evidence that life likely existed on Earth at least 4.1 billion years ago—300 million years earlier than previous research suggested. The discovery indicates that life may have begun shortly after the planet formed 4.54 billion years ago. The research is published today in the online early edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "Twenty years ago, this would have been heretical; finding evidence of life 3.8 billion years ago was shocking," said Mark Harrison, co-author of the research and a professor of geochemistry at UCLA. "Life on Earth may have started almost instantaneously," added Harrison, a member of the National Academy of Sciences. "With the right ingredients, life seems to form very quickly. Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-10-life-earth-billion-years-agomuch.html#jCp
Is there enough time from the hot explosive B.B. cooling off and so on . or would it be that the earth was a wandering planed and ended in our solar system ?
The BB occurred 13.8 billion years ago. The Solar system formed around 4.6 billion years ago [which is what you obviously meant] That leaves 500 million years for life to evolve, and plenty of time for the Earth to have cooled down.
Awesome finding. Many here may not realize, zirconium minerals are unique in terms of an overall low level of radiologic activity that would have rendered the carbon samples unusable for this research in other environments. The specific carbon isotopic content is characteristic of photosynthesis, which evidently began life on Earth before animals. Even an herbivore would need some organic plant material to survive, so this makes perfect sense. This is undoubtedly the oldest carbon dating ever done on this planet. Thanks, paddoboy.
