Earth's earliest life forms found in Western Australia

[jakeXT]

Microbiologists have discovered some the oldest evidence of life on Earth in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, about 150kms inland from Port Hedland.

A paper published in the journal Astrobiology described a complex microbiological system that dates back 3.5 billion years, the earliest signs of life so far discovered.

These fossilised "microbial mats" are likely to have formed in a pool that had separated from the ocean, possibly on a volcanic island that grew out of the one billion-year-old earth that was still covered mostly in water.

...

These pools are known to be brimming with microbial life, but in the case of our 3.5 billion-year-old ancestors found in the WA MISS, some of the single-celled bacteria appeared to be quite large, some several centimetres across.

According to Dr Wacey, the discovery of this primitive microbial community provides evidence of the types of the life that might exist on planets other than earth.

...

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/technology/2013/11/13/15/16/earliest-forms-of-life-found-in-wa

[frogmarch]

1. Neat!

Here's a picture of it:



http://www.livescience.com/41191-ancient-microbe-fossils-found.html

[DreamGypsy]

2. Took me a while to determine the novel discovery that is reported here.

Stromatolites of various kinds have been discovered and recognized for some time (though I didn't find a reference to their "original discovery") and have found in the Pilbara region before. From Wikipedia:

Stromatolites or stromatoliths (/strɵˈmætoʊlaɪts/; from Greek στρώμα, strōma, mattress, bed, stratum, and λίθος, lithos, rock) are layered accretionary structures formed in shallow water by the trapping, binding and cementation of sedimentary grains by biofilms of microorganisms, especially cyanobacteria. Stromatolites provide the most ancient records of life on Earth by fossil remains which date from more than 3.5 billion years ago.

Stromatolites at Strelley Pool Chert (SPC)
(Pilbara Craton) - Western Australia

The new news is that MISS stromatolites (ie. a kind described as Microbially-Induced Sedimentary Structures) had not be observed before in the region. From Science Daily:

The Pilbara district of Western Australia constitutes one of the famous geological regions that allow insight into the early evolution of life. Mound-like deposits created by ancient photosynthetic bacteria, called stromatolites, and microfossils of bacteria have been described by scientists in detail. However, a phenomenon called microbially induced sedimentary structures, or MISS, had not previously been seen in this region. These structures are formed from mats of microbial material, much like mats seen today on stagnant waters or in coastal flats.

Still, pretty cool! Thanks for the post, jakeXT.

[Kip Humphrey]

3. 3.5 Billion year old organisms self-organizing biochemical communication networks

"Some of the structures we see look kind of like spider webs in three dimensions with the bacteria, making a network for themselves"


fascinating... Reminds me of the Internet, AT&T, brains...



Its just bacteria making fun of fungi again! I mean, they do have such a vague way about them, unlike the sturdy definite-ness of rows of bacteria, their cylindrical masses all crammed together like so many barges on the Mississippi River.


But, enough of old rivalries, and


ALL HAIL OUR OVERLORDS!!!