Scientists Find Traces – Oct. 25, CNN reports that scientists have found traces of ancient life inside a 2.5-billion-year-old ruby from Greenland, where the earliest famous rubies were found. The research was published last week in the journal Ore Geology Reviews.
Such rubies, for example, consist of graphite, a mineral made from pure carbon. and the unique chemical composition in carbon indicates the remains of early life.
Chris Yakimchuk, Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences At the University of Waterloo in Canada, the graphite inside the ruby is truly unique. For the first time we see evidence of ancient life in rubies.
Such graphite is found in rocks as old as 2.5 billion years ago, the time on Earth. When oxygen is needed in the atmosphere And unicellular organisms exist only in microorganisms and algae.
to determine if carbon is a biological source Researchers consider the chemical properties of carbon. In particular, the isotopic composition of the carbon atom.
“Living things are made up of carbon atoms that are lighter because they use less energy to integrate into cells. from the carbon-12 content increased in this piece of graphite We can conclude that Carbon atoms were once ancient organisms. which are likely to be dead microorganisms such as cyanobacteria (cyanobacteria).”
Scientists found rubies in Greenland while studying ruby geology to better understand the conditions necessary for the formation of rubies. Additionally, graphite has been found to tend to alter the chemistry of the stones surrounding the ruby to create conditions favorable for its growth.
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“The presence of graphite also clarified us to examine how rubies formed in this area. This cannot be done directly based on the color of the ruby and its chemical composition,” said Professor Yakimchuk.
