How life started – Experts have discovered in their study that life on Earth emerged between 591 and 565 million years ago when the strength of the magnetic field decreased and created the right conditions for an increase in oxygen levels, according to an article published in the journal Communications Earth and Environment.
The conditions allowed ancient species to evolve on Earth, Newsweek reported Thursday. Experts suggested that life on Earth began about 3.7 billion years ago with single-celled organisms. They later evolved to become multicellular about 1.7 billion years ago.
The outlet reported that animals emerged only 580 million years ago, in a period called Ediacara. These creatures at that time had soft bodies but between 575 and 565 million years ago they began to transform into complex beings due to increased oxygen levels.
The researchers stated: “Oxygen has long been identified as a key ‘environmental guardian’, enabling evolutionary innovation and meeting the energy demands of animals.
How life started
Although sponges and microscopic animals can survive with low levels of dissolved oxygen (as low as about 1.5 μM, equivalent to 0.5 percent of present atmospheric level [PAL]), macroscopic, morphologically complex, and mobile animals require a greater amount of oxygen to sustain their life. metabolic demands,” they said.How life started
“A complex animal ecosystem that includes long food chains and predators requires even greater amounts of oxygen.”
“Multiple lines of geochemical evidence point to a possible increase in atmospheric and oceanic O2 levels in the late Ediacaran period, specifically in the period around 575-565 Ma,” the experts noted. How life started
This study allowed scientists to understand more about the evolution of Earth and life on the planet. How life started