What are the first recognizable forms of life that we find in the
geological record? How far back can we go in geological time and still
find life? This lecture reviews three lines of evidence that have
emerged in recent years to suggest that life may have emerged very early
on the young Earth, perhaps within a few hundred million years of the
end of the epoch of heavy bombardment. I will describe fossil
stromatolites, microfossils, and carbon isotope data that are used to
explore these questions. Recorded live on 2009 Oct 19 in Room 1005
Smith Laboratory on the Columbus campus of The Ohio State University.
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