The tiny stone collected from the ancient seabed in Quebec, Canada, could change history, pushing back the timeline for the emergence of life on Earth by at least 300 million years compared to previous understandings.
According to a research team from University College London (UCL), a member of the University of London, the rock contains small yet incredibly intricate structures that likely have a biological origin, as they do not match any structural forms produced by chemical reactions.
The stone contains structures of a primitive organism, resembling a miniature version of modern plants – (Photo: UCL).
Notably, the tiny stone is estimated to be between 3.75 and 4.28 billion years old. In contrast, the earliest evidence of life on Earth is a 3.46 billion-year-old rock from Western Australia, containing fossils resembling tiny worm-like creatures.
This new discovery has shattered the record for the oldest living organism ever found on the planet, pushing this significant milestone back nearly 300 million years into the past.
Furthermore, the structure within this stone is much more complex: it resembles a small stem with parallel branches on one side, measuring nearly 1 cm in length.
According to Daily Mail, the research team also found mineralized chemical byproducts in the stone, consistent with how ancient microorganisms might have thrived on iron, sulfur, and carbon dioxide. These new findings suggest that a variety of different microorganisms may have existed on primitive Earth.
This also opens up possibilities for searching for life on other planets.
“If life appeared early on Earth, under suitable conditions, it would increase the chances of life existing on other planets,” said Dr. Dominic Papineau, the lead author of the study.
