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3.7 billion year old biogenic remains.

T Hassenkam1, M T Rosing2

  • 1Nano-Science Center, Department of Chemistry, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Communicative & Integrative Biology
|December 21, 2017
PubMed
Summary

Ancient carbon inclusions in 3.7-billion-year-old garnets show signs of life. New analysis confirms the co-localization of carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and phosphorus, supporting their biogenic origin and potentially the oldest evidence of life on Earth.

Keywords:
AFM-IRIsua supercrystal beltnitrilephosphonateremains of early life

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Area of Science:

  • Geochemistry
  • Astrobiology
  • Paleontology

Background:

  • Garnet crystals from Isua metasediments contain 3.7-billion-year-old carbonaceous material.
  • Previous studies suggested a biogenic origin for this carbon based on carbon isotope depletion.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To provide further evidence for the biogenic origin of ancient carbon inclusions.
  • To spatially characterize the co-localization of other elements essential for life (O, N, P) within these inclusions.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized Atomic Force Microscopy-Infrared Spectroscopy (AFM-IR) to map elemental distribution.
  • Employed AFM-IR to generate overlay maps of carbonaceous material, nitrile, and phosphonate domains.
  • Analyzed the spatial overlap of these domains within garnet inclusions.

Main Results:

  • Confirmed the presence of carbonaceous material with 13C depletion, consistent with biogenic origin.
  • Detected structural-bound oxygen, nitrogen, and phosphorus within the carbonaceous material using AFM-IR.
  • Demonstrated co-localization of nitrile and phosphonate domains within the same nanometer-sized patches of carbonaceous material inside the inclusions.

Conclusions:

  • The co-localization of C, O, N, and P provides strong spatial evidence for the biogenic origin of these ancient inclusions.
  • These findings corroborate previous claims for the biogenic origins of carbon in Isua metasediments.
  • The study presents compelling evidence for potentially the oldest biogenic remains in Earth's geological record.