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At Phys.org: Discovery of new types of microfossils may answer age-old scientific question

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Scientists have long pondered how and when the evolution of prokaryotes to eukaryotes occurred. A collaborative research team from Tohoku University and the University of Tokyo may have provided some answers after discovering new types of microfossils dating 1.9 billion years.

Details of their findings were published in the journal Precambrian Research on August 19, 2022.

The Gunflint Formation traverses the northern part of Minnesota into Ontario, along the northwestern shores of Lake Superior. The first bacterial microfossils were discovered there in 1954, with Gunflint microfossils now recognized as a “benchmark” in the field of life evolution.

Discovery of new types of microfossils may answer age-old scientific question
Common types of Gunflint microfossils, with white scale bars at a scale of 0.01mm. Credit: Sasaki et al.

Yet, since the 1970s, little research on the diversity of Gunflint microfossils has been conducted, and no conclusive evidence of eukaryotic microfossils has been reported.

Seeking to reassess the microfossils, the research team carried out a geological survey of the Gunflint Formation and collected microfossil-containing rocks. After investigating the microfossils’ three-dimensional shape and size distribution, they unearthed five types of microfossils: colonial, ellipsoidal, intracellular inclusion-bearing (ICI), spinous and tail-bearing types.

“The newly found ones are more functional,” said the leader of the team Kohei Sasaki, a research fellow at Tohoku University. “The ellipsoidal microfossils resemble modern cyanobacteria, which evolved to improve their tolerance to harsh environments; whereas chemical analysis showed that the ICI microfossils were packed with nutrients.”

This provides evidence that the microorganisms evolved to store nutrients that could weather environmental stress.

Meanwhile, the spinous and tail-bearing types demonstrated features advantageous for motility and nutrient transfer among cells, a typical morphological feature of eukaryotes.

“Although the size of cells is prokaryote by definition, they had already developed eukaryotic functions,” added Sasaki. This indicates that prokaryotes may have begun diversifying their functions and preparing for evolution before the emergence of eukaryotes 1.8–1.6 billion years ago.

The team speculates that the unique environment at the time facilitated the divergent expansion of microbial forms. The collision of land masses accelerated oxidative weathering from the fresh continent to the ocean. This increased the nutrient supplies and raised seawater temperatures, making the marine environment unstable.

“Under such conditions, microorganisms probably diversified their morphology as a survival strategy, paving the way for eukaryotes to evolve,” continued Sasaki.

Sasaki and his team’s landmark discovery will help scientists pinpoint the timing and factors that ushered in the evolution of prokaryotes to eukaryotes, providing not only geological significance, but aiding the fields of life sciences and evolutionary biology as well.

Phys.org

The evolutionary worldview leads researchers to uncritically ascribe any changes in the fossil record to adaptation via evolution. But hasn’t research shown (as summarized in Brian Miller’s recent ENV post) that chance mutations are insufficient to produce novel, functional biomolecules found within the putative adaptations?

Comments
Seversky at 30, There is no reason to not imitate good role models today and embody what is best about the British character.relatd
September 8, 2022
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It is a great loss. I am a naturalized US citizen but British by birth. One of my earliest memories is attending a street party in London held to celebrate her coronation. Although the monarch is a figurehead, by staying above the political fray she was able to embody what is best about the British character, at least as it was.Seversky
September 8, 2022
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Relatd: A great loss. I will be praying for her, her family and the people of England. Again, we agree. Thank you. Things will change, I hope for the better.JVL
September 8, 2022
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JVL at 27, A great loss. I will be praying for her, her family and the people of England.relatd
September 8, 2022
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Relatd: Ideally, I should be able to talk to you in person or on the phone. This degenerate form of communications is very lacking. I agree with you on that for sure. And, I suspect, if we were neighbours we'd be quite friendly. Anyway, I will be mourning one of the greatest monarchs of the United Kingdom and of the world. Never to be repeated I suspect.JVL
September 8, 2022
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You should also quit being stupid about my posts. Your interpersonal skills need some work. Ideally, I should be able to talk to you in person or on the phone. This degenerate form of communications is very lacking.relatd
September 8, 2022
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Relatd: The next few days will be about The Queen. Sadly. ??? Show some respect. I’m not British but I have a great deal of respect for the Queen and the Royal Family. I said sadly because I suspected she had died or was close to it. Not because I didn't want the coverage. I'm a fan of the Royal family. You make some really stupid assumptions sometimes. Please stop doing that.JVL
September 8, 2022
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The next few days will be about The Queen. Sadly. ??? Show some respect. I'm not British but I have a great deal of respect for the Queen and the Royal Family.relatd
September 8, 2022
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Relatd: I know about other countries. Hopefully, things will improve in your country regarding “unguided evolutionary theory.” Not while Richard Dawkins is parading the streets in a baklava wielding a sub-machine gun making sure everyone is carrying a copy of The Selfish Gene. The next few days will be all about The Queen I think. Sadly.JVL
September 8, 2022
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JVL at 21, I know about other countries. Hopefully, things will improve in your country regarding "unguided evolutionary theory."relatd
September 8, 2022
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Relatd: I mean if ID gets into the schools, then people would start thinking about God. Hmmm . . . my local primary school is a C of E (Church of England) school (as are the majority of primary schools in England), they have prayer services led by the local vicar, they pray before lunch, they perform Easter services in the local church. And they teach unguided evolutionary theory. There is no great hue and cry to take prayer out of schools nor is there a great hue and cry to teach ID as part of the science curriculum. Also, in primary and secondary schools RE (religious education) is a required part of the course work. I realise that most of the commenters here are American or focus heavily on America. But, you know, it's just one country; a big country, a rich country, but just one country. Before you decide how things HAVE to be run perhaps you should spend more time looking at how things are done, quite successfully, in other countries. You know, broaden your horizons a bit.JVL
September 8, 2022
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Zweston at 19, Seversky is here to promote evolution regardless of evidence to the contrary. That's all. He can't afford to stop. I mean if ID gets into the schools, then people would start thinking about God. So ID has to be shouted down, but is that a correct assessment or just an attempt to confuse people? It appears that there is no other reason than to make people think ID is not science, even though design has been found in living things, including codes used to carry out life functions.relatd
September 7, 2022
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Sev is dug in ya'll and he doesn't like God. He isn't an atheist...as they don't really exist. There are those who acknowledge the truth and those who suppress the truth. Or there are those who are doubting and struggling because they've been suffocated with "science" that is bought out and compromised and full of conflation and speculation that is unobserved and untested. We are told to deny our intuitions and our current observations for speculation and conflation... hmm. Just like we are told socialism is a good idea, even though it has NEVER worked in history and has had dire consequences. We are told there is no cabal of people running the world, then London installs face recognition cameras... etc.... You can only find the truth if you are actually open to finding it. That's where it is. No one here is rejecting evolution based on ignorance of what the evolutionist claims...however much can be said about those who mischaracterize and ignore what ID claims.zweston
September 7, 2022
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Seversky at 16, The dreaded "Christian nationalist wing." I hope you haven't been targeted - by their words. "we" again. You have your "we" side and then there's the Christian nationalist wing. Oh well... At this point, it appears that your only job here is to promote evolution, make a few other remarks, and promote evolution.relatd
September 7, 2022
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Seversky in a random message on the internet
...I can assure you that...
:) Yeah, right.Sandy
September 7, 2022
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Relatd/13
First, we have your anger, or angry sounding statements, against a being you don’t believe exists.
You may interpret my statements as expressing anger towards your God but I can assure you that's not the case. As I have stated before, I feel no more anger towards the Christian God than I do towards Darth Vader or the Dark Lord Sauron. On the other hand I sense a lot of anger in the increasingly strident and belligerent rhetoric coming from the Christian nationalist wing of the faith in this country and I am certainly angered by them.
Then we have your replies to clear examples given by me, and others, that don’t fit your non-religious beliefs.
Examples of what?
So, either all living things are actually designed (as stated by the Catholic Church) or they only look like they are (as stated by Richard Dawkins).
I have no problem with design per se. If we found evidence to support the speculation that we are all part of a simulation running on some giant supercomputer, I would be fascinated rather than offended. But then you are not concerned with evidence for design in general, only that which could be interpreted as supporting the existence of the Christian God and I doubt you would accept a supercomputer as a substitute for however you perceive your God.
I think you’re smart enough to momentarily forget which ‘side’ you’re on, look at the data, and decide who has the facts.
I have looked at such facts as there are and I find the preponderance to be consistent with a naturalistic understanding of the Universe which includes evolution. That could change over time but at the moment we have to go with what we have.Seversky
September 6, 2022
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Zweston/12
Sev… that’s what current science is doing…with Neo-darwinism.
No, that is the conspiracy theory Christians employ to explain why their religious beliefs have failed to gain traction as scientific explanations within science.Seversky
September 6, 2022
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Paid $5,500,000 to Never Mention God but we see all sexual perversions promoted everywhere . Hmmm...Lieutenant Commander Data
September 6, 2022
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Seversky at 11, First, we have your anger, or angry sounding statements, against a being you don't believe exists. Then we have your replies to clear examples given by me, and others, that don't fit your non-religious beliefs. So, either all living things are actually designed (as stated by the Catholic Church) or they only look like they are (as stated by Richard Dawkins). I think you're smart enough to momentarily forget which 'side' you're on, look at the data, and decide who has the facts.relatd
September 6, 2022
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Sev... that's what current science is doing...with Neo-darwinism.zweston
September 6, 2022
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So "real, actual science" is only that which fits in with your religious beliefs - sort of religious Lysenkoism?Seversky
September 6, 2022
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Zweston at 9, Ah, I see. Amazing how this has lasted for so long. I do hope that 'real, actual science' is being done somewhere. :)relatd
September 6, 2022
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relatd. when they release studies like this, it is likely just to pad their pocketbooks like the thousands of papers that have falsified data and the preceding media releases they way overblow the findings of the studyzweston
September 6, 2022
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Seversky at 7, A quick edit for accuracy. "Evolution is messy, imperfect, wasteful, couldn’t care less about any particular life-form and has no particular purpose in mind."relatd
September 6, 2022
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Evolution is like God only if God is messy, imperfect, wasteful, couldn't care less about any particular life-form and has no particular purpose in mind.Seversky
September 6, 2022
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Zweston at 5, "their funding may improve..." Based on what? More guesswork? :)relatd
September 6, 2022
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It's amazing how much evolution takes on the same characteristics as God. We all know it has been designed... has it been designed by a bunch of statistically impossible chemical reactions, or was it designed by intelligence...which is the observed source of all information and complexity in our world. More wishful thinking from the darwinist lobby... I guess their funding may improve though.zweston
September 6, 2022
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“Under such conditions, microorganisms probably diversified their morphology as a survival strategy, paving the way for eukaryotes to evolve,” continued Sasaki.' Probably? An unguided process probably did something so something else could happen? Evolution cannot plan ahead.relatd
September 6, 2022
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From the article, I haven't learned how these microfossils "answer age-old scientific question" ...martin_r
September 5, 2022
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from the article:
This indicates that prokaryotes may have begun diversifying their functions and preparing for evolution before the emergence of eukaryotes
preparing for evolution ?????? PREPARING FOR EVOLUTION ????????? This sounds like a fake news ...martin_r
September 5, 2022
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