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Ammonium fertilized early life on Earth

Source: Syracuse University New research demonstrates that ammonium was a vital source of nitrogen for early life on Earth.



Life on Earth relies on the availability of critical elements such as nitrogen and phosphorus
  • These nutrient elements are ubiquitous to all life, as they are required for the formation of DNA, the blueprints of life, and proteins, the machinery.

  • They are originally sourced from rocks and the atmosphere, so their availability to life has fluctuated alongside significant changes in the chemistry of Earth's surface environments over geologic time.

  • New research, reveals how the supply of these elements directly impacted the growth of Earth's oxygen-rich atmosphere and were key to the evolution of early life on Earth.

  • The most dramatic change in Earth history followed the evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis, which fundamentally transformed the planet by providing a source of carbon to the biosphere and a source of oxygen to the atmosphere, the latter culminating in the Great Oxidation Event (GOE) some 2.3 billion years ago.


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