Simple Life Form May Have Existed 700 Million Years Earlier Than Previously Thought

Science Daily ^ | July 8, 2008 | Curtin University

[SunkenCiv]

The accepted timeframe for the beginnings of life on Earth is now being questioned by a Curtin University of Technology led team of scientists, after finding a key indicator to the earliest life forms in diamonds from Jack Hills in Western Australia... The Curtin led team's discovery of very high concentrations of carbon 12, or "light carbon" within these crystals is remarkable as it is a feature usually associated with organic life... Evidence for ancient life stretches back in time to at least 3.5 billion years ago, in the form of single-celled organisms that did not require oxygen. The discovery of light carbon in the Jack Hills crystals raises the question – did a simple life form exist on Earth 700 million years earlier than previously thought? ...In 1983, a Curtin project team discovered extremely old zircon crystals in a collection of rocks located between Meekathara and Carnarvon. Twenty years later, the oldest diamonds were unexpectedly discovered in these rocks by many of the original team.

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Diamonds 4.2 billion years old found trapped inside the Jack Hills zircon crystals are the oldest-known samples of Earth's carbon. (Credit: Image courtesy of Curtin University)

[SunkenCiv]

Diamonds Tell Story Of Earth’s Beginning
The Telegraph (UK) | 8-22-2007 | Roger Highfield
Posted on 08/22/2007 6:48:58 PM PDT by blam
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1885157/posts

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1725156/posts?page=42#42
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1725156/posts?page=68#68
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1725156/posts?page=98#98

[SunkenCiv]

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[Kleon]

If 700 million is the margin of error, then it’s entirely possible, according to these scientists, that life actually began much later, confirming biblical accounts.

[SunkenCiv]

Geologists push back date basins formed,
supporting frozen Earth theory (basins in India)
University of Florida | Jul 3, 2008 | Unknown
Posted on 07/03/2008 11:08:44 AM PDT by decimon
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2040344/posts

[knarf]

700 million years !

Will someone with a brain really try to comprehend that statement?

Creationists are crazy for believing a young earth 6-10,000 years ... but 700 million is entirely within the ken of comprehension?

My God is Jehovah. and "their" god is 'million'.

[Gondring]

If 700 million is the margin of error, then it’s entirely possible, according to these scientists, that life actually began much later, confirming biblical accounts.

LOL!

[SunkenCiv]

http://www.mathcurve.com/surfaces/mobius/mobiusescher.gif

[SunkenCiv]

[knarf]

read my home page

[uglybiker]

[SunkenCiv]

;')

[ken21]

i ken.

[knarf]

No, I'M Sparticus !

[Caramelgal]

If 700 million is the margin of error, then it’s entirely possible, according to these scientists, that life actually began much later, confirming biblical accounts.

Neither the article nor the scientists quoted in the article are pushing back the estimated age of the Earth by 700 million years. Rather they have discovered a type of carbon crystal that is associated with simple one celled organic life and it may (in the scientists own words) indicate that very primitive one celled life forms existed earlier than previously thought.

That’s how science works; new evidence, after peer review and challenges to new or modified theories based on new evidence, if valid and provable or reasonable under the scientific method, modifies or some times changes previously accepted theories.

Science rejects “contempt prior to investigation” where as religion and faith demands the exact opposite.

While interesting, it is not in my opinion a shocking discovery or a repudiation of science, scientists or the scientific method.

As far as confirming biblical accounts, it all depends on what interpretation you choose to follow of those accounts. The concept of a 6,000 year old earth does not directly come from any accounts in the Bible, i.e. Genesis does not say “In the beginning on the night preceding October 23, 4004 BC, God created…”.

This date was originally proposed and was based on the pure speculation of Archbishop Ussher who in 1650 published the Ussher chronology. He came up with that date and the 6,000 year old earth theory by taking every word in the Bible as literal and adding up the life spans of major biblical characters and genealogies back to Adam and Eve including some supposedly very long lived persons like Methuselah who purportedly lived 969 years.

People living 969 years? I see no physical evidence to support that claim nor do I see any physical evidence for a 6,000 (or 10,000) year old Earth.

The Bible, like many other spiritual texts contains many allegories and parables that, in my opinion, are not meant to be taken literally as far as physical facts, but are meant to teach a greater moral truth or lesson.

And even the Bible, especially the Old Testament and specifically Deuteronomy Deuteronomy 22:21, on moral teachings, have some things that we today reject as being immoral like “honor killings”.

[curmudgeonII]

Look at Deuteronomy 23: 2.

[SunkenCiv]

Carbon ratios suggest life present early in Earth's days
by Dale Gnidovec
Columbus Dispatch
Tuesday, August 26, 2008

The researchers also suggested an even more intriguing explanation: Life processes produce residues with greatly reduced C-13 ratios. If the low C-13 ratios in the microdiamonds from Australia were produced by living organisms, there was life on this planet more than 4.2 billion years ago, almost as soon as it formed.

That suggests life might be present in many parts of the universe.

Okay, now this is a bit of an X-Planets topic:

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[SunkenCiv]

Carbon ratios suggest life present early in Earth's days
by Dale Gnidovec
Columbus Dispatch
Tuesday, August 26, 2008

The microdiamonds had surprisingly low ratios of C-13. One possible explanation is that they represent meteorites that bombarded the planet early in its history. Many meteorites are characterized by low C-13 ratios.

Okay, now this is a bit of a Catastrophism topic:

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[SunkenCiv]

Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Greater 1.4 Billion Years Ago
Science Daily News | September 19, 2003 | Staff via Virginia Tech Release
Posted on 09/20/2003 9:43:49 PM PDT by PeaceBeWithYou
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/986454/posts

Do nuclear decay rates depend on our distance from the sun?
the physics arXiv blog | 8/29/08
Posted on 08/29/2008 9:29:09 AM PDT by LibWhacker
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2070597/posts

A potential fallacy in ice core studies?
Posted on 08/05/2008 2:33:04 AM PDT by y2gordo
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2056679/posts

[SunkenCiv]

Whoops! Earth’s Oldest ‘Diamonds’ Actually Polishing Grit
LiveScience | 1/3/2014 | Becky Oskin
Posted on 1/3/2014 5:26:38 PM by aimhigh
https://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3108059/posts