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Researchers have discovered microbial remains in rocks 3.5 billion years old in Western Australia. These remains could be the first signs of life on the planet and would constitute a discovery considered a "smoking gun".
Scientists at the University of New South Wales have discovered stromatolites 3.5 billion years old, old sedimentary rocks, believed to contain the first signs of life, a theory that has now been proven.
"This is an exciting discovery, and for the first time we are able to show the world that these stromatolites are irrefutable evidence of the very first life on Earth," said the principal author of the study, Dr. Raphael Baumgartner.
Photomicrograph of pyrite stromatolites from the 3.5 – year – old Dresser Formation. The stromatolites are delimited by pyrite, also called mad gold. (Credit: UNSW Sydney)
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The stromatolites, which were discovered in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, gave researchers the closest option of finding a "smoking gun" to prove the existence of such an ancient life .
"This represents a major breakthrough in our knowledge of these rocks, in the science of investigations of life in general and, more specifically – in the search for life on Mars," said Professor Martin van Kranendonk in his statement. "We now have a new target and a new methodology to look for traces of ancient life."
The research was published in the journal Geology.
Baumgartner and the other researchers drilled into the rock to collect samples and analyzed them using a variety of advanced tools and techniques, including high power electron microscopy, spectroscopy and isotopic analysis.
He discovered that stromatolites are essentially composed of pyrite, often called "crazy gold", with organic matter.
"The organic matter we found preserved in stromatolite pyrite is exciting – we are looking at exceptionally preserved coherent filaments that are typically microbial biofilm residues," Baumgartner added.
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In addition to providing clues to the formation of life on Earth, they can also indicate if and where it has formed or existed on Mars, the researchers said.
"Understanding where life could have emerged is really important to understanding our ancestry," Baumgartner said. "From there, it could help us understand where life could have happened – for example, where it was launched on other planets."
"It is deeply satisfying that the ancient Australian rocks and our scientific know-how are making such a significant contribution to our quest for extraterrestrial life and unveiling the secrets of Mars," said van Kranendonk.
A study published earlier this year suggests that the building blocks of life on Earth came from a galactic collision with another object the size of Mars, more than 4 billion years ago.
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