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Home > 25. Early Earth and Life Processes > Stromatolytes
Podcast: 25. Early Earth and Life Processes
Episode:

Stromatolytes
Category: Science & Medicine
Duration: 00:01:01
Publish Date: 2011-07-28 08:53:14
Description: Transcript: The earliest solid evidence for life on Earth comes from three and a half billion years ago in the form of stromatolytes. Stromatolytes are prokaryotic organisms, colonies of microbes, bacterial mats. They take the physical form of layers of sediment interspersed with microbes. Today they are found in their fossilized form, but the layered structure is very clear evidence of a colony of organisms. The energy source for the prokaryotes was photosynthesis near the top of the bacterial mat. Organisms lower down existed on the waste products of organisms that were receiving direct sunlight. Even today, we can see the descendants of stromatolytes. In Western Australia for example, it’s possible to see bacterial mats even today that exist and get their energy in a similar way to three and a half billion years ago.
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