As the quest continues in search for a possibility of alien life on Mars, a team of scientists have recently found a so-called evidence that could prove that life on Erath had existed much earlier than what has been previously thought and they believe that this discovery has certain implications for life possibly springing up on other planets, particularly on the red planet. Dubbed as "microfossils", British scientists have unearthed the remains of these microbial bugs that are thought to be the oldest known on Earth. Researchers explain that the fossil, which has been found in Quebec, Canada, in an area known as the Nuvvuagittuq Supracrustal Belt (NSB) suggests that life on earth was thriving as far back as 4.2 billion years, hundreds of millions of years earlier as compared to what was previously thought.
Debunking Microfossils
According to reports revealed by The Independent, experts say that these types of bugs, which have been living on iron, are said to have allegedly thrived in a deep sea hydrothermal vent system, a region of volcanic activity on the ocean floor. University College London scientists believe that the mineral-rich, hot waters surrounding hydrothermal vents may have provided habitats where the Earth's earliest life forms have evolved as long as 4.3 billion years ago. The researchers claimed that the discovery supports the idea that life emerged from hot, sea floor vents shortly after planet Earth has been formed.
Furthermore, in one of his statements reported by Metro, Matthew Dodd, a member of the UK team, said that the speedy appearance of life on Earth fits with other evidence of recently discovered 3,700 million year old sedimentary mounds that were said to have been apparently shaped by micro-organisms. Additionally, lead scientist Dr. Dominic Papineau, from UCL's Earth Sciences department, explains that the fact that they have been able to recover them from one of the oldest known rock formations suggests we've found direct evidence of one of Earth's oldest life forms. Papineau continues to explain that the structures in the rocks that contained the fossils were spheroids, and since they are found to be made of hematite, they have associated the finding to the discovery in 2004 by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity of beds of rounded hematite concretions, that MER scientists called "blueberries."
Alien Life On Mars
Meanwhile, the scientists believe the find, which has been co-funded by NASA, could be of great help in search for life on other planets including Mars. They explain that the bugs were living on Earth at a time when Mars is thought to have had oceans or lakes of liquid water on its surface. Ultimately, the team has highly emphasized that although the finding of ancient fossils on Earth doesn't necessarily mean there is past or present life on Mars, it is enticing to know that the environment on early Mars was likely very similar to early Earth, where life did spring up.
