Using a specialized form of microscopy, paleobiologists at UCLA have been able to create three-dimensional images of Precambrian-era bacteria trapped inside rocks, without damaging the rocks or the specimens, for the first time.
The fossil cyanobacteria are contained in rocks from Kazakhstan and are estimated to be between 650 to 850 million years old. J. William Schopf and colleagues used techniques called confocal laser scanning microscopy and Raman spectroscopy to create the 3D images. The microscopic technique causes the fossils’ cell walls to fluoresce, making details more vivid. The spectropic technique allows the researchers to determine the chemical makeup of the fossils.
Schopf said the same techniques could allow scientists to test rocks from Mars, for example, for signs of ancient organic life.
Also known as blue-green algae, ancient cyanobacteria were photosynthetic and are believed to have radically changed ancient earth’s atmosphere by adding oxygen to it. Sometime during the Precambrian era, some cyanobacteria took up residence in other organisms in a symbiotic relationship. We call those organisms plants and their symbiotes, chloroplasts.
Cradle of Life : The Discovery of Earth’s Earliest Fossils
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