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Sciworthy

The Encyclopedia of Science's Frontier

Home » Big Questions » What happened in Earth’s past? » Page 3

Category: What happened in Earth’s past?

What was the Earth like a long time ago? What have archaeologists found? What was it like before life started? How did life come to be?
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Microbes entombed in ancient salts could help search for life on Mars

Posted on August 8, 2022June 25, 2025 by Aubrey Zerkle

Geologists discovered microbes trapped in 830-million-year-old salt minerals similar to those found on Mars.

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    Why did a bunch of asteroids hit the Earth billions of years ago?

    Posted on July 6, 2022June 25, 2025 by Aubrey Zerkle

    The first cells of life on Earth had a lot to contend with. Conditions were harsh and unpredictable. The air was thick with volcanic gases.…

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      Where did all these plants come from?

      Posted on May 12, 2022June 24, 2025 by Sciworthy

      Without plants on earth, we would not be here. But, where did plants come from? Did they suddenly just sprout out of the ground? Scientists…

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        Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are way older than penicillin

        Posted on February 10, 2022October 24, 2022 by Sciworthy

        Remember the classic chases where Wile E. Coyote tries to catch Roadrunner but is often outsmarted? It turns out that bacteria have to…

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          Ancient bacteria leave behind fossils, too!

          Posted on February 1, 2022June 24, 2025 by Sciworthy

          Scientists used genetic technology to identify the different roles of bacteria present in ancient fossil formations called stromatolites.

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            A detailed look at a rare meteorite

            Posted on January 10, 2022June 25, 2025 by Sciworthy

            A carbonaceous meteorite that fell in Costa Rica holds organic compounds that are preserved from the earliest stages of our solar system,…

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              Building the molecules of life in the lab

              Posted on January 3, 2022June 24, 2025 by Gina Misra

              The hyperbranched polymer scaffold could have been the early primitive base for the emergence of life. @t_z_jia @CerberaOdollam…

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                Searching for the first light of fireflies

                Posted on October 18, 2021June 24, 2025 by Sciworthy

                Fireflies are bioluminescent, which means they glow. But were they always that way? Why do they glow? Scientists used genetics tools to find…

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                  Intelligent life might be rare

                  Posted on September 17, 2021October 24, 2022 by Sciworthy

                  How hard is it for evolution to produce intelligent life like humans? We don't really know, but some computational modelers tried to answer…

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                    The shape of the continents is not a coincidence

                    Posted on September 13, 2021June 24, 2025 by Sciworthy

                    Biological processes might have led to greater continental crust coverage than would be expected on a planet without life.

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                      Artist's impression of the planetary system around the red dwarf Gliese 581. Credit: ESO

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