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SCIENCE! heaps good, solid evidence for life over 3.4 billion years ago

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H

HolyCheck

I want a tag give me a tag
SCIENTISTS in Western Australia have uncovered fossils which they say are the oldest evidence of life on earth.

A team of researchers from the University of WA and Britain's Oxford University say they have proof that the microscopic fossils, found at Strelley Pool near Port Hedland, are more than 3.4 billion years old.

The sulphur-based bacteria was found well preserved between quartz sand grains in prehistoric sedimentary rocks, Oxford University's Professor Martin Brasier said.

"We can be very sure about the age (of the fossils) as the rocks were formed between two volcanic successions that narrow the possible age down to a few tens of millions of years," he said in a statement.

The fossils are very clearly preserved, showing precise cell-like structures all of a similar size, the research team said.

"At last we have good solid evidence for life over 3.4 billion years ago. It confirms there were bacteria at this time, living without oxygen," Prof Brasier said.

"Such bacteria are still common today. Sulphur bacteria are found in smelly ditches, soil, hot springs, hydrothermal vents — anywhere where there's little free oxygen and they can live off organic matter."

In recent years new scientific benchmarks have been introduced that must be satisfied by researchers before claims can be made about the age of fossils.

The West Australian fossils pass crucial tests including that the forms seen in the rocks are biological and have not occurred through some mineralisation process, Prof Brasier said.

"We're now making detailed comparisons with all other early microfossils, and we're very optimistic for future finds," he said.

"The work also has implications for looking for life on other planets, giving an indication of what evidence for such life might look like."
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http://www.news.com.au/technology/s...illion-years-old/story-fn5fsgyc-1226119426081

425663-microfossils.jpg


Awesome stuff!
 
S

SolKane

Member
Anyone else think these fossils were put there to test our faith? Ha ha - nice try Jesus, but you won't fool me that way!
 
D

Derrick01

Banned
SolKane said:
Anyone else think these fossils were put there to test our faith? Ha ha - nice try Jesus, but you won't fool me that way!
Click to expand...

Wouldn't that be the devil? Jesus doesn't come off as the trolling type to me.
 
D

Deadbeat

Banned
SolKane said:
Anyone else think these fossils were put there to test our faith? Ha ha - nice try Jesus, but you won't fool me that way!
Click to expand...
Im pretty sure it was Satan that did this. Satan is such an asshole burying those fossils trying to fool us.
AqLtm.jpg
 
S

spiderman123

Member
I am sorry this doesn't prove anything, all this proves is that God came down from heaven and planted those bones there. This is a fact.
 
J

jaxword

Member
Deadbeat said:
Im pretty sure it was Satan that did this. Satan is such an asshole burying those fossils trying to fool us.
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People literally say this. Across the world. And they vote.
 
X

XMonkey

lacks enthusiasm.
Can't wait until we can get some probes on the surface of some of the more interesting places in our solar system. Europa, especially.
 
S

Smellycat

Member
Some people are just sad. Who are you guys writing to?

I don't see anyone in this thread claiming that the earth is 6000 years old. This is an article about a possible scientific breakthrough, and all you can think of is "lol, christians"


Grow up
 
J

jaxword

Member
Smellycat said:
Some people are just sad. Who are you guys writing to?

I don't see anyone in this thread claiming that the earth is 6000 years old.

Grow up
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So there's no one who says that in the world?
 
Z

zomgbbqftw

Banned
Deadbeat said:
Im pretty sure it was Satan that did this. Satan is such an asshole burying those fossils trying to fool us.
http://i.imgur.com/AqLtm.jpg[/ IMG][/QUOTE]

Yeah, he could at least have left them out in the open for us to find easily, save us all that digging...
Click to expand...
 
M

mrkgoo

Member
Derrick01 said:
Wouldn't that be the devil? Jesus doesn't come off as the trolling type to me.
Click to expand...

Maybe the Apple didn't fall far from the tree.


God is the biggest troll ever. To make a people that have a logical-thinking mind, in a world dictated by science and logic, only to demand that they believe in a God that would otherwise never provide evidence and call that...faith?

That's some serious high-level trolling.
 
D

DevelopmentArrested

Banned
Smellycat said:
Some people are just sad. Who are you guys writing to?

I don't see anyone in this thread claiming that the earth is 6000 years old. This is an article about a possible scientific breakthrough, and all you can think of is "lol, christians"


Grow up
Click to expand...
the next president may very well believe the earth is 6000 years old. so yes, i'd say it's relevant.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=io-t-bUkfY8&feature=player_detailpage#t=31s
 
S

spiderman123

Member
mrkgoo said:
Maybe the Apple didn't fall far from the tree.


God is the biggest troll ever. To make a people that have a logical-thinking mind, in a world dictated by science and logic, only to demand that they believe in a God that would otherwise never provide evidence and call that...faith?

That's some serious high-level trolling.
Click to expand...



Ooooo careful there we don't want Apple suing you now.
 
L

Lance Bone Path

Member
Derrick01 said:
Wouldn't that be the devil? Jesus doesn't come off as the trolling type to me.
Click to expand...
God: Kill your son
Isaac: Okay.
[Isaac is about to sacrifice his son.]
God: Don't kill your son. I was just testing you, LOL LOL LOL.
 
Insane Metal

Insane Metal

Gold Member
This is amazing news.

Damn, 3.4 billion years ago there was life here already. Imagine all the things this planet has gone through in so much time. Science is amazing.
 
A

Air

Banned
Fusebox said:
Proof that that creationists don't exist!
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Its not that so much as its stifling discussion. The creationists out there aren't reading this topic, so the jokes don't go anywhere, or other atheists get a laugh. So than the question is, what's the point of mocking people where they aren't even here to defend themselves?

Its dumb and it retards these great science threads from being about cool science.
 
Z

zyxwvu4321

Member
Nothing says "GAF OT" quite like a cool scientific discovery thread being hijacked instantly to troll religion (specifically Christianity).
 
A

Air

Banned
Fusebox said:
No, it isn't. Not in the slightest.
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Do you see the topic of 3.4 billion year old life discussed here? Cause all I see are jokes about creationists. But maybe I'm blind or something.
 
Lamel

Lamel

Banned
Alright let's get this thread back on track. That's pretty amazing, especially since there was no oxygen as cyanobacteria did not exist back then. Imagine then all the difference types of life that could exist in outer space that is based off of so many elements; maybe things like this are already on some distant planet but there is no way for us to know. ;_;
 
K

krypt0nian

Banned
Saadster said:
That's like the most amount of faith mocking posts I've seen in a row. Jesus.
Click to expand...

If faith drives a person to refuse to believe science, it wholly deserves to be mocked.

Deal with it.
 
mclaren777

mclaren777

Member
Smellycat said:
Some people are just sad. Who are you guys writing to?

I don't see anyone in this thread claiming that the earth is 6000 years old. This is an article about a possible scientific breakthrough, and all you can think of is "lol, christians"

Grow up
Click to expand...
Well said.
 
M

Mars

Banned
Damn you guys are predictable. How boring it must be to think of science only as a tool of arguments. Science isn't a faith, you don't need to fight for it nor believe in it. Instead, think about how incredibly long it's been between when these organisms lived and the moment you're at right now, and how much has happened in that time. I think that might be a little more interesting than whether you or your neighbours are slightly less wrong about the mysteries of the universe.
 
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