Scientists resurrect 3.2-billion-year-old enzyme to reveal how life began on Earth
Scientists have used synthetic biology to reconstruct ancestral nitrogenase enzymes that existed 3.2 billion years ago. This research provides new insights into how early life on Earth accessed nitrogen and how life might evolve on other planets.
Why it matters
Understanding the evolution of nitrogen fixation helps scientists decode the origins of life and informs the search for biological signatures on other worlds.
Nitrogen is essential for every known form of life on Earth. Now, scientists say this common element may also help explain how the earliest life evolved on our planet and how life could develop elsewhere in the universe.
The article is a straightforward report on scientific research published in a peer-reviewed journal.
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