Month: May 2015

Prof. Pieter Visscher publishes evidence of Arsenic-based life from 2.72 billion years ago in Nature Geosciences

An article by Prof. Visscher and colleagues was recently published in Nature Geosciences.  The group assessed the chemistry and nature of cell-like globules found in 2.72-billion-year-old fossil stromatolites from Western Australia.   The globules were composed of organic carbon and arsenic and their investigation suggests that life existed as a result of arsenic cycling before the Earth’s atmosphere and ocean were oxygenated.   Details about this important finding can be found at:

http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/v7/n11/full/ngeo2276.html