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Biogeochemistry

Life before the rise of oxygen

Nature volume 455, pages 1051–1052 (2008)Cite this article

The discovery of molecular fossils in 2.7-billion-year-old rocks prompted a re-evaluation of microbial evolution, and of the advent of photosynthesis and rise of atmospheric oxygen. That discovery now comes into question.

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Figure 1: The evolution of eukaryotes and cyanobacteria, and the rise of atmospheric oxygen.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Woodward W. Fischer is in the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA. wfischer@caltech.edu,

    Woodward W. Fischer

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  1. Woodward W. Fischer
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Fischer, W. Life before the rise of oxygen. Nature 455, 1051–1052 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/4551051a

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