These “Living Rocks” Are Living It Up
You might think you’re looking at a bunch of mossy rocks, but you’re actually gazing at some of the world’s oldest living creatures—and they’re doing great.
Communities of microbes gobble up dissolved minerals in water and turn them into these solid, rock-like structures called microbialites. Researchers have found fossilized microbialites that are around 3.7 to 3.5 billion years old, which might represent the oldest organisms found on Earth.
Around a billion years after that, microbialites may have transformed our planet forever—researchers think tha
You might think you’re looking at a bunch of mossy rocks, but you’re actually gazing at some of the world’s oldest living creatures—and they’re doing great.
Communities of microbes gobble up dissolved minerals in water and turn them into these solid, rock-like structures called microbialites. Researchers have found fossilized microbialites that are around 3.7 to 3.5 billion years old, which might represent the oldest organisms found on Earth.
Around a billion years after that, microbialites may have transformed our planet forever—researchers think tha
23 hours ago
