Nov 6 1996
From The Space Library
A team of scientists from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia discovered new evidence that pushed back considerably the scientifically estimated date of the origin of life on Earth. The researchers projected that the Earth's age might be 350 million years older than previously thought. The research team, led by Gustaf Arrhenius, published its findings in the 7 November issue of Nature. The scientists argued that the presence of apatite (basic calcium phosphate) in Earth's oldest known sediment sequences suggested that life had emerged on Earth 3.85 billion years ago. The scientific community met these findings with both excitement and skepticism.
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