Abstract The Archean era (4 to 2.5 billion years ago, Ga) yielded rocks that include the
oldest conclusive traces of life as well as many controversial occurrences. Carbonaceous …

Estimates of the time at which life arose on Earth make use of two types of evidence. First,
astrophysical and geophysical studies provide a timescale for the formation of Earth and the …

Abstract The ca. 3.48 Ga Dresser Formation, Pilbara Craton, Western Australia, is well
known for hosting some of Earth's earliest convincing evidence of life (stromatolites …

Construction and assembly of the Geologic Time Scale involves:(a) constructing a relative
(chronostratigraphic) standard scale for key periods in the Earth's rock record;(b) identifying …

Cyanobacteria are among the most diverse prokaryotic phyla, with morphotypes ranging
from unicellular to multicellular filamentous forms, including those able to terminally (ie …

Background Cyanobacteria are one of the oldest and morphologically most diverse
prokaryotic phyla on our planet. The early development of an oxygen-containing …

Life on Earth has existed for at least 3.5 billion years. Yet, relatively little is known of its
evolution during the first two billion years, due to the scarceness and generally poor …

For decades, deep sea hydrothermal vents have been a preferred setting for the Origin of
Life, but “The Water Problem” as relates to polymerization of organic molecules, together …

Silicification of volcanic rocks, ranging from komatiitic to dacitic in composition, is a common
phenomenon of the 3.5 to 3.2 Ga old volcano-sedimentary succession of the Barberton …

Carbon is the key element of life, and its origin in ancient sedimentary rocks is central to
questions about the emergence and early evolution of life. The oldest well-preserved carbon …