Scientists have found living microorganisms in 2 billion year old rocks that could help shed light on early life on Earth.

Scientists from the University of Tokyo have discovered a living group of ancient microorganisms in a layer of volcanic rock that is 2 billion years old, rich in minerals in South Africa. This discovery may help answer the question and shed light on the earliest life on our planet.

Professor Suzuki Yohey Department of Earth and Planetary Environmental Sciences (UG), University of Tokyo and colleagues analyzed a 30-centimeter-long cylindrical rock base sample recovered from the volcanic rock of the Bushveld Igneous Complex 15 meters down in northeastern South Africa. This happens when magma cools slowly. Cooled below the surface of the earth in the past.

By analyzing 2 billion year old rocks, scientists have discovered micro-organisms that live in small cracks. This makes this rock the oldest rock in which living things have lived. This discovery can provide new insights. About where life on earth came from and it may help guide our search for extraterrestrial life.

When they cut open the core of the rock they found microbial cells living in small cracks in the rock. The team stained the microbial DNA and photographed it using a scanning electron microscope and a fluorescence microscope. They then compared them to contaminants to confirm that the microorganisms were native to the rock samples. This is a sign that the cells are alive and working.

In the analysis process the stone was cut into thin sheets. and studying the rocks This is when the team found living microbial cells packed into cracks in the rock. Making living things unable to leave or other things unable to enter Scientists have built on previously developed methods to confirm the presence of micro-organisms in rock samples. and is not caused by contamination during the drilling or exploration process.

“We don’t know if rocks are 2 billion years old. Can he live there? To date, the oldest geological layer in which living microorganisms have been found is a layer of sea floor sediment that is 100 million years old, so this is a very interesting discovery. micro-organisms help us understand how early life on Earth evolved.” …Suzuki Yohey, Associate Professor from the University of Tokyo said

“Bushveld Igneous Complex” It covers an area of ​​about 66,000 square kilometers. They vary in thickness up to 9 square kilometers. and contains some of the richest mineral deposits in the world. This includes approximately 70 percent of the world’s mined platinum. “

Information – reference photo


– www-su–tokyo-ac-jp

– www.link-springer-com. (Subsurface Microbial Colonization of Mineral-rich Veins in a 2-Billion-Year-Old Mafic Rock from the Bushveld Igneous Complex, South Africa)