Scientists discover the world's oldest biological colors



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Australian researchers discovered the oldest biological color of the Sahara Desert, in a discovery that they explained on Tuesday why complex life forms appeared on Earth.

Pink pigments were produced by simple microscopic organisms called cyanobacteria. There is 1.1 billion years, some 500 million years older than previous color pigment discoveries

which makes the samples "fifteen times older" than the. Tyrannosaurus Rex dinosaur species, according to Jochen Brocks, researcher at the Australian National University. It is about 4.5 billion years old and the researchers said the latest discovery revealed why more sophisticated animal and plant life appeared 600 million years ago.

Previous research has shown that low levels of oxygen in the atmosphere hinder complicated life forms, but the discovery of cyanobacteria at such an early date suggests that organisms piled up "algae, although They are still microscopic, are a thousand times larger than cyanobacteria and are a much richer food source, "Brocks told AFP.

"The cyanobacterial oceans began to proliferate, disappearing about 650 million years ago, when algae began to spread rapidly to provide the energy necessary for the evolution of the planet. Complex ecosystems, where large animals, including humans, could thrive on Earth "

when an oil company that was drilling in the Taoudeni basin in West Africa sent them rocks for badysis

Pigments are fossilized relics of chlorophyll, a chemical that allows plants and certain microscopic life forms to transform light into energy. Pink pigment that they discovered would have initially appeared blue-green to the human eye.

The results were published Tuesday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Journal

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