seeder Posted February 19, 2014 #1 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Evolution turned on its head: Early life on Earth DIDN'T need lots of oxygen to survive Sea sponges thrive in water with only 0.5% of present day oxygen levels Scientists argue that early primitive life may also have needed little oxygen The findings suggest that the rise of animals could have created oxygen-rich oceans, rather than oxygen-rich oceans creating animals The origin of complex creatures is one of science's greatest mysteries. The widely-accepted theory is that complex life evolved because oxygen levels began to rise around 630 million years ago. But a new study claims that most primitive animals may have flourished in water that contained almost no oxygen. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2562224/Evolution-turned-head-Early-life-Earth-DIDNT-need-lots-oxygen-survive.html#ixzz2tmCN9dXk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taun Posted February 19, 2014 #2 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Makes sense... Just look at the horseshoe crab... totally alien critter... Copper based blood... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seeder Posted February 20, 2014 Author #3 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Plus there's this Oxygen may not be the staple of modern complex life that scientists once thought. Until now, the only life forms known to live exclusively in anoxic conditions were viruses, bacteria and Archaea. But in a new study, scientists have discovered three new multicellular marine species that appear to have never lived in aerobic conditions, and never metabolized oxygen. Most significantly, the new species do not have mitochondria, the cellular organelles that use oxygen and sugar to generate the cell’s energy. Instead, the new loriciferans have organelles that resemble hydrogenosomes, which are used by some single-celled eukaryotes to generate energy without oxygen. However, this is the first time that these organelles have been observed in multicellular organisms http://phys.org/news189836027.html#jCp 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bendy Demon Posted February 20, 2014 #4 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Why is this such a revelation? There are even anaerobic bacteria that don't need breathable air like we do. There are life forms in the ocean that thrive on the acidic and scalding waters around volcanic vents. I guess when I look at all the various environments that are inhospitable to us but perfect for other creatures, I just am not sure why science sees this as something that turns everything upside-down. Actually, wasn't microbes even discovered inside volcanoes, like near lava and all? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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