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Hot Topic
Solar System
Earth
Geology
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| Rock Bands Spin an Oxygen Record |
| Topic: Geology |
06/22/09 |
| The rise of oxygen on early Earth may have been caused by a microbial changing of the guard between methane-producers and oxygen-producers. This swap may have been initiated by a drop in the ocean's nickel abundance. Continuing studies of the world's largest iron ore deposits could cement the case. |
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| Plate Tectonics Could be Essential for Life |
| Topic: Geology |
02/19/09 |
| Planetary scientists have been considering the potential importance of plate tectonics. Some believe that this geological process is essential for the development of complex lifeforms, and in the future could even be used as a biosignature to detect habitable worlds. |
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| Deep Hydrogen |
| Topic: Geology |
06/16/08 |
| Molecular hydrogen provides energy for many bacteria, in hot springs at Yellowstone and in rocks several kilometers beneath the surface. How did molecular hydrogen get inside these deep rocks, and what does this tell us about the origin of life on Earth? |
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| Building a Habitable Earth |
| Topic: Geology |
05/31/07 |
| To understand the origin of life we need to know about the conditions on the early Earth, but the rock record for the first 700 million years of Earth history is gone. From Astrobiology Magazine, European Edition is a story about techniques scientists are using to peer farther back in time. |
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| Rocking the Cradle of Life |
| Topic: Geology |
08/04/04 |
| When did life begin? One evidential clue stems from the fossil records in Western Australia, although whether these layered sediments are biological or chemical has spawned a spirited debate. Oxford researcher, Nicola McLoughlin, describes some of the issues in contention. |
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| Pebbles from an Overheated Earth? |
| Topic: Geology |
05/25/04 |
| The current understanding is that life evolved in a dramatically different environment than exists today. One way primordia differs depends on the carbon dioxide level for the early Earth. Pebbles from a South African goldmine may lock those secrets into their geological makeup. |
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| Clues to Life in the Mines of Murgul |
| Topic: Geology |
03/15/04 |
| The Mine of Murgul sounds like an ominous place in "The Lord of the Rings," a dark cavern filled with menacing orcs and trolls. But, in fact, this copper mine in Turkey may help shed light on life's origin. |
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| Diamonds in the Rough |
| Topic: Geology |
08/05/03 |
| Friedemann Freund is investigating the complex chemistry of common rocks like granite, in hopes of uncovering more clues to the origin of life and how oxygen came to support it since the early Earth. |
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| Earth's Oldest Fossils Reverse Course |
| Topic: Geology |
04/07/03 |
| It's a critical question of life science: Are microscopic structures found in 3.5 billion-year-old Archean rocks from Western Australia the oldest fossils of life on Earth? That depends, says one scientist, on whether you think the rocks formed from above -- or below. |
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