[Rockhounds] Rockhounds Digest, Vol 94, Issue 4

[Alan Goldstein]

I agree with you, Jeffery.

The earth is full of joint fractures and percolating groundwater can serve
as conduits for extremophiles.  As far as sealed fractures go, they would
open and close with tectonic stresses. It doesn't take much space to fit a
microbe.

The fact that something can live under such weird conditions means life
elsewhere in our galaxy is likely.

Alan G.

On Tue, Oct 8, 2024 at 4:58 PM Jeffrey Joy <jeffreyjoy at gmail.com> wrote:

> While I am breathless at the thought of microbes this old being present, I
> am, alas sceptical.   While the rock is certainly of that age, it is quite
> likely to have been fractured in situ many times over its lifetime. These
> fractures then could have been colonized at any time or multiple times over
> the ensuing eons and the fractures then filled in and mineralized by
> mineral-laden waters.  Of course carbon dating can’t be done over those
> timescales and we are pretty confident that molecules degrade over millions
> of years so it’s unlikely that those original organisms or their
> descendants were preserved intact for us to study.
>
> On Tue, Oct 8, 2024 at 3:00 PM <rockhounds-request at rockhounds.drizzle.com>
> wrote:
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> > Today's Topics:
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> >    1. 2-billion-year-old rock harbors living microbes, rewrites
> >       life?s history (Kreigh Tomaszewski)
> >
> >
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Message: 1
> > Date: Mon, 7 Oct 2024 20:41:11 -0400
> > From: Kreigh Tomaszewski <kreigh at gmail.com>
> > To: "Rockhounds at drizzle.com: A mailing list for rock and gem
> >         collectors"     <rockhounds at rockhounds.drizzle.com>
> > Subject: [Rockhounds] 2-billion-year-old rock harbors living microbes,
> >         rewrites life?s history
> > Message-ID:
> >         <CACibpJ+Sc+Z_b8Pbadft5=g4AjMkhiaH2vFMMowtJKQ=
> > 9D3Gtg at mail.gmail.com>
> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
> >
> > Microbiologists have made a groundbreaking discovery in a
> > 2-billion-year-old rock located in northeastern South Africa. This
> > incredibly ancient rock was not only habitable but still contained living
> > microbes within its ?sealed fractures,? as per a recent press release.
> >
> > ?It is the oldest example of living microbes being found within ancient
> > rock so far discovered,? it said.
> >
> > Remarkably, these ancient life forms could hold the key to understanding
> > life in the far reaches of the universe, particularly in rock samples
> > retrieved from Mars. The search for extraterrestrial life continues, and
> > this discovery fuels our curiosity.
> >
> > ?By studying the DNA and genomes of microbes like these, we may be able
> to
> > understand the evolution of very early life on Earth,? Yohey Suzuki, lead
> > author from the University of Tokyo, said.
> >
> > In a new study published in *Microbial Ecology*, microbiologists focused
> > their research on the Bushveld Igneous Complex in northeastern South
> > Africa. This geological formation originated from magma cooling beneath
> the
> > Earth?s surface and is renowned for its abundant ore deposits, including
> > 70% of the world?s mined platinum.
> >
> > The immense age of this geological wonder intrigued the researchers from
> > the University of Tokyo. They were uncertain if the 2-billion-year-old
> rock
> > could harbor life and embarked on a mission to uncover the truth.
> >
> >
> >
> https://interestingengineering.com/science/2-billion-year-old-rock-harbors-living-microbes-rewrites-lifes-history
> >
> >
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> > End of Rockhounds Digest, Vol 94, Issue 4
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