Where Did It All Begin?
Popular Science|September - October 2017

A new geological finding stirs questions—and controversy—about where and when earliest life emerged.

Kat McGowan
Where Did It All Begin?

The rock is deep rusty red, shot through with gray stripes. It rises above shrubby tundra, part of a hummocky terrain that slopes down to the Hudson Bay in northern Quebec, as it has for a very long time—maybe almost as long as the planet itself. This is a rare spot on Earth, one of a few where rocks this old survive. Plate tectonics and the relentless recycling of crust have repeatedly chewed up our planet’s surface. Only a few zones in deep continental interiors have escaped this fate, in places like Greenland and Western Australia. Scientists who specialize in finding signs of the origins of life make pilgrimages to these primeval sites. Life wrote its first chapters in these rocks. And scientists hope to read them.

Canadian geologist Dominic Papineau schemed for years to visit this lonely place, known as the Nuvvuagittuq Supracrustal Belt. In 2008, he finally rounded up a couple thousand dollars in funding and set out from the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, D.C., journeying through three layovers and a final leg on a bush plane. If you like rocks—and don’t mind mosquitoes—it’s a great place to ramble for a couple of weeks in the summer. A lichen-flecked stony expanse, polished by glaciers, juts through the thin soil.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der September - October 2017-Ausgabe von Popular Science.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der September - October 2017-Ausgabe von Popular Science.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS POPULAR SCIENCEAlle anzeigen
Popular Science

They Might Be Giants

A photographer-and-ecologist team are on a mission to document the forests’ mightiest members.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
Winter 2020
Popular Science

Droplet Stoppers

Covid-19 made face masks a crucial part of every outfit, and we’re likely to don them in the future when we feel ill. Fortunately, there’s a style for every need.

time-read
1 min  |
Winter 2020
Popular Science

Landing a Lifeline

For those whose livelihood depends on the ocean, a covid-spurred interruption in the seafood market might speed progress toward a more sustainable future—for them and for fish.

time-read
10+ Minuten  |
Winter 2020
Headtrip – Your brain on video chat
Popular Science

Headtrip – Your brain on video chat

Dating, Catching up with family, and going to happy hour are best in person.

time-read
1 min  |
Winter 2020
Behind The Cover
Popular Science

Behind The Cover

Butterflies may seem delicate, but they are surprisingly tough.

time-read
1 min  |
Winter 2020
Tales From the Field – A cold one on mars
Popular Science

Tales From the Field – A cold one on mars

Kellie Gerardi, bioastronautics researcher at the International Institute for Austronautical Science

time-read
1 min  |
Winter 2020
Popular Science

The Needs Of The Few

Designing with the marginalized in mind can improve all of out lives.

time-read
6 Minuten  |
Winter 2020
Popular Science

Life On The Line

On the Western edge of Borneo, a novel conservation-minded health-care model could provide the world with a blueprint to stop next pandemic before it starts.

time-read
10+ Minuten  |
Winter 2020
waste watchers
Popular Science

waste watchers

YOU CAN TURN FOOD SCRAPS INTO FERTILIZER IN ALMOST ANY CONTAINER. THESE BINS USE THEIR OWN METHODS TO ENCOURAGE THE PROCESS, BUT BOTH KEEP BUGS AND STINK AT BAY.

time-read
1 min  |
Winter 2020
why can't i forget how to ride a bike?
Popular Science

why can't i forget how to ride a bike?

LEARNING TO PEDAL IS NO EASY FEAT.

time-read
1 min  |
Winter 2020