Fossil find shows life on Earth 3.7 billion years ago

[Ann]

Fossil find shows life on Earth 3.7bn years ago

Life on Earth is even older than we thought, Australian scientists said Thursday as they unveiled fossils dating back a staggering 3.7 billion years.
The tiny structures -- called stromatolites -- were found along the edge of Greenland's ice cap, and were 220 million years older than the previous record holders.

They prove that life emerged fairly shortly -- in geological terms -- after the Earth was formed some 4.5 billion years ago, said lead researcher Allen Nutman of the University of Wollongong.

And, he added, they offer hope that very basic life might at one point have existed on Mars...

Ann