New findings challenge previous beliefs about timeline for origin of complex life on earth
Recent findings from a new scientific expedition indicate that “complex life” began approximately 2.1 billion years ago on Earth, challenging previous studies on the probable timing of life’s emergence.
In a report published on Wednesday, July 31, Life Science journal wrote that scientists have uncovered new evidence regarding the probable timing of the emergence of “complex life.”
According to the findings, complex life (forms of life exceeding the structure of single-celled organisms) may have originated around 2.1 billion years ago during a “continental collision.”
This study revises the start of complex life from 635 million years ago (as per previous research) to 2.1 billion years ago, indicating that complex life evolved more than 1.5 billion years earlier than previously thought.
Advocates of this theory, during their research in Gabon, Africa, found evidence deep within rocks suggesting that suitable environmental conditions for animal-like organisms – a form of complex life – existed around 2.1 billion years ago.
They believe that during their research, they observed signs of nutrient-rich materials containing phosphorus and oxygen in fossils preserved from a continental collision 2.1 billion years ago, and the presence of these nutrients in a specific time period indicates more complex organisms, which, according to scientists, creates ideal conditions for complex life.
According to previous studies, the increase in oceanic oxygen concentration and marine phosphorus is linked to a biological evolutionary period – of a complex nature – dating back to about 635 million years ago.
Previous studies also show that the first recognized life forms – of a simple nature – started about 3.5 to 4 billion years ago in Greenland, Canada, and Australia, but they were simple microscopic organisms.
However, some researchers and scientists argue that this theory requires further evidence. According to a report by BBC World Service, Professor Graham Shields from King’s College London stated, “I am not convinced that the presence of nutrients containing oxygen, phosphorus, and nitrogen 2.1 billion years ago could lead to the diversity and formation of complex life.”
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