A finger of purple bacteria sticks up from the bottom of a lakebed
Longer Days Led to Oxygen Buildup on Early Earth: Study
Researchers propose that some of the planet’s earliest photosynthesizers benefited from a slowing of the Earth’s rotation that allowed them to produce a surplus of oxygen and paved the way for more complex life.  
ABOVE: Phil Hartmeyer, NOAA Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Longer Days Led to Oxygen Buildup on Early Earth: Study
Longer Days Led to Oxygen Buildup on Early Earth: Study

Researchers propose that some of the planet’s earliest photosynthesizers benefited from a slowing of the Earth’s rotation that allowed them to produce a surplus of oxygen and paved the way for more complex life.  

Researchers propose that some of the planet’s earliest photosynthesizers benefited from a slowing of the Earth’s rotation that allowed them to produce a surplus of oxygen and paved the way for more complex life.  

ABOVE: Phil Hartmeyer, NOAA Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
  1. Home
  2. Subjects
  3. early life

early life

a micrograph of putative sponge fossils with small tunnel-like structures in white on a black background
890-Million-Year-Old Fossils Are Sponges, Oldest Animals: Study
Abby Olena | Jul 28, 2021
If confirmed, the findings indicate that animals appeared on Earth millions of years earlier than previously believed.
early-life stress, histone, chromatin, epigenetics, epigenetic modification, methylation, DNA, protein, stress, adversity, mice, genetics, genomics
Early-Life Stress Exerts Long-Lasting Effects Via Epigenome
Asher Jones | Mar 18, 2021
In mice, epigenetic marks made on histones during infancy influence depression-like behavior during adulthood. A drug that reverses the genomic tags appears to undo the damage.
lightning, life, Earth, meteorite, phosphorous, fulgurite, schreibersite, DNA, RNA, microbes, evolution
Lightning Might Have Sparked Early Life on Earth
Asher Jones | Mar 17, 2021
Electrical storms, rather than meteorites as scientists had previously thought, could have unlocked phosphorus necessary for the development of ancient life, according to a new study.
RNA-DNA Chimeras Might Have Supported the Origin of Life on Earth
Jef Akst | Sep 17, 2019
A new study finds mixtures of nucleotide types, rather than pure systems, are more likely to yield the building blocks of life.
Signs of Ancient Microbial Life Questioned
Abby Olena | Oct 17, 2018
New findings cast doubt on previous claims that structures found preserved in rocks in Greenland are stromatolites, but the original authors say the discrepancy lies in different samples.
Ancient Microfossils May be Earliest Signs of Life
Diana Kwon | Mar 2, 2017
Researchers find what appear to be 3.77 billion-year-old hints of microbial life hidden in Canadian rocks, but some scientists are not convinced.
Pondering Photosynthesis
Tracy Vence | Sep 30, 2013
New research uncovers previously unappreciated insights into the evolution of the well-studied energy-producing process.
Book Excerpt from Cosmic Apprentice
Dorion Sagan | Jul 31, 2013
In Chapter 9, “Life Gave Earth the Blues,” author Dorion Sagan addresses the planet’s exuberant color palette, evoking the contribution of industrious microbes.