00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 Scientists believe life started on our planet
00:05 around 3.7 billion years ago.
00:08 But that life was much different than the flora and fauna
00:10 we have today.
00:11 In fact, that life was no more than simple microbes.
00:14 But now, experts studying fossils from Australia's
00:16 McDermott Formation say they may have just
00:18 found the earliest signs of more complex processes.
00:22 They discovered what are called thylakoids,
00:23 or minuscule structures within cyanobacteria.
00:26 The fossils are dated as having been formed some 1.75
00:29 billion years ago.
00:30 And it's the oldest evidence of photosynthesis ever found.
00:34 Photosynthesis, of course, is the means
00:36 by which plants and some other organisms
00:38 derive energy from the sun.
00:39 It's a keystone of many contemporary plants.
00:41 But this might be the missing link with regards
00:43 to how tiny microbial creatures ultimately
00:45 evolved and gained that ability.
00:47 And this was likely also key for the food chain
00:49 at that point in time as well, and could
00:51 signal when a big atmospheric change began on Earth,
00:54 as photosynthesis is key in the production of oxygen
00:57 on our planet.
00:58 In fact, the Great Oxidation Event
01:00 occurred around 2.4 billion years ago.
01:02 But scientists haven't been able to figure out why.
01:04 One of the most likely theories has always
01:06 been the advent of oxygen-creating organisms,
01:09 most notably creatures that undergo photosynthesis.
01:13 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:16 (upbeat music)
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