Chinese and US scientists have shed new light on a dull stretch in the planet’s history known as the “boring billion”, and they say their study on this period could help us understand extraterrestrial life, predict future evolution and prepare for catastrophic events.
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The researchers spent six years building a global palaeobiology database of early life forms, mapping out biodiversity trends from 2 billion to 500 million years ago. They published their findings in the peer-reviewed journal Science on December 20.
Between 1.8 billion and 800 million years ago, things on Earth were rather uneventful. Oxygen levels were low, climate changes were minimal and living things did not evolve much.
According to the scientists, the earliest organisms found during these billion boring years, such as bacteria, lived long and stable lives, but there was also a slow yet steady increase in the number of species during the period.
The boring billion was followed by a global freeze that shook up biodiversity and the evolution of life on Earth.
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The scientists found that two global glaciation events between 720 and 635 million years ago disrupted the evolution of eukaryotes – organisms whose cells have a clearly defined nucleus, which include animals, plants and fungi.