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"Did plate tectonics give rise to life?  New research could crack Earth's deepest mystery."

Views expessed in this science and technology update are those of the reporter and correspondents.  Accessed on 11 November 2024, 1612 UTC.

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Russ Roberts (https://hawaiisciencejournal.blogspot.com).

November 11, 2024 CONNECT WITH LIVESCIENCE      Amazing science every day SIGN UP ⋅   WEBSITE   Top Science News (Nicholas Forder) Did plate tectonics give rise to life? Groundbreaking new research could crack Earth's deepest mystery. Earth's surface is a turbulent place. Mountains rise, continents merge and split, and earthquakes shake the ground. All of these processes result from plate tectonics, the movement of enormous chunks of Earth's crust. This movement may be why life exists here. Earth is the only known planet with plate tectonics and the only known planet with life. Most scientists think that's not a coincidence. But researchers don't know why or when plate tectonics started, making it hard to determine how essential this process was to the evolution and diversification of life. Some think plate movement fired up as little as 700 million years ago, when simple multicellular life already existed. Others believe only single-celled organisms reigned when Earth's plates first cracked apart. In fact, as new methods allow scientists to look ever-deeper into the past, some are now arguing that plate tectonics emerged very soon after Earth's formation — perhaps predating life itself. If this hypothesis is true, it may suggest that even the most primitive life evolved on an active planet — and that means plate tectonics could be an essential ingredient in the search for alien life. Read More When did plate tectonics begin? How many tectonic plates does Earth have? Planet Earth (Alexandra Barymova / Lomonosov Moscow State University Marine Research Center) Surprised Russian school kids discover Arctic island has vanished after comparing satellite images A student-led project comparing satellite images of the Arctic has discovered that a small Russian island has recently vanished after "completely melting" away. Read More Space (MARK GARLICK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY via Getty Images) How many galaxies orbit the Milky Way? The number of known galaxies circling the Milky Way is increasing as we develop new powerful telescopes. Read More Health (d3sign/Getty Images) 'A direct relationship between your sense of sight and recovery rate': Biologist Kathy Willis on why looking at nature can speed up healing Biologist Kathy Willis spoke to Live Science about how touching wood makes us calmer, why looking at a picture of a savanna is calming and how walking through a forest changes our gut microbes. Read More Your Brain (Asier Romero via Shutterstock) Forgetting may provide a surprising evolutionary benefit, experts say If you didn't forget things, you'd be in for a world of trouble. Read More Animals (Hoberman Collection/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) King cobra mystery that's puzzled scientists for 188 years finally solved Scientists identified four new species of king cobra from 154 museum specimens. Read More Daily Quiz What was the record flight time that concorde flew between New York City and London? (Learn the answer here.) 2 hours 48 minutes and 57 seconds 2 hours 52 minutes and 59 seconds 2 hours 53 minutes and 21 seconds 2 hours 55 minutes and 14 seconds

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