"What is the latest thinking regarding the origin of life on Earth? Is Panspermia considered seriously by the astrobiology community? "
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Earlier Evolution of Oxygenic Photosynthesis - Surviving Snowball Earth
June 13, 2006 / Posted by: Shige Abe
Roger Buick from NAI’s University of Washington Team and his colleagues report in the current issue of Geology their analysis of oil-bearing fluid inclusions in 2.45 billion year old rocks from Canada. They assert that the oil is derived from an overlying formation, becoming trapped in the host rock before 2.2 billion years ago – prior to the Great Oxidation Event. Abundant biomarkers for cyanobacteria and eukaryotes were identified in the study, suggesting that aqueous environments at the time had become sufficiently oxygenated for sterol biosynthesis to occur, and implying that organisms had the ability to survive “snowball Earth” glaciations.
Source: [Link]
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