Potentially Alive 830-Million-Year-Old Organisms Found Trapped in Ancient Rock

[Still Waters]

An incredible discovery has just revealed a potential new source for understanding life on ancient Earth.

A team of geologists has just discovered tiny remnants of prokaryotic and algal life – trapped inside crystals of halite dating back to 830 million years ago.

Halite is sodium chloride, also known as rock salt, and the discovery suggests that this natural mineral could be a previously untapped resource for studying ancient saltwater environments.

Moreover, the organisms trapped therein may still be alive.

The extraordinary study also has implications for the search for ancient life, not just on Earth, but in extraterrestrial environments, such as Mars, where large salt deposits have been identified as evidence of ancient, large-scale liquid water reservoirs.

https://www.sciencealert.com/830-million-year-old-microorganisms-found-trapped-in-australian-rock

The research has been published in Geology.

https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/article/doi/10.1130/G49957.1/613521/830-million-year-old-microorganisms-in-primary

[Abramelin]

Our ancestors.

[quiXilver]

Wow, the implications if this pans out as projected...  Paradigm upending.

 

Thanks for sharing!

[Still Waters]

Scientists Set To Crack Open 830 Million Year Old Crystal That 'Contains Ancient Life'

The discovery of the ancient crystal was first announced by researchers from the Geological Society of America earlier this month, who explained that by using a selection of imaging techniques they had managed to discover tiny remnants of prokaryotic and algal life, which had been preserved within tiny, microscopic pockets of fluid within the crystal for millions of years.

These bubbles of liquid, known as fluid inclusions, could potentially serve as microhabitats for tiny colonies of life to thrive, and now scientists want to crack them open and find out once and for all whether or not this ancient life is truly still alive.

https://www.ladbible.com/news/830-million-year-crystal-life-kathy-benison-mars-20220528

https://www.npr.org/2022/05/24/1100972368/830-million-year-old-salt-crystal-microscopic-life-study-discovery?

 

[Nnicolette]

Well don't tell me nobody warned them about Pandora's box.

[Raptor Witness]

On 5/30/2022 at 11:57 AM, Nnicolette said:

Well don't tell me nobody warned them about Pandora's box.

Exactly….