Ancient sediments that once resided on a lake bed and the ocean floor show sulfur isotope ratios unlike those found in other samples from the same time, calling into question accepted ideas about when ...

Today’s climate change pales in comparison with what happened as Earth gave birth to its oxygen-containing atmosphere billions of years ago. By analyzing clues contained in rocks, scientists at the ...

In the quest to understand the potential for life beyond Earth, researchers are widening their search to encompass not only biological markers, but also technological ones. While astrobiologists have ...

A rapid increase in oxygen levels about 2.5 billion years ago was linked to the evolution of photosynthetic organisms, but geological factors likely started this process. Earth’s early atmosphere was ...

Astrophysicists outline the links between atmospheric oxygen and the potential rise of advanced technology on distant planets. In the quest to understand the potential for life beyond Earth, ...

Every breath we take in contains 21% oxygen, the gas that makes life on Earth possible. Oxygen, in its combined oxide state, has always been abundant in Earth's crust, but elemental diatomic oxygen ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. David Bressan is a geologist who covers curiosities about Earth. Jun 30, 2025, 07:58am EDT Jul 01, 2025, 04:44am EDT For 540 ...

It is widely believed that Earth's atmosphere has been rich in oxygen for about 2.5 billion years due to a relatively rapid increase in microorganisms capable of performing photosynthesis. Researchers ...

Coined by astrophysics Adam Frank and Amedeo Balbi, the “oxygen bottleneck” describes the critical threshold that separates worlds capable of fostering technological civilizations from those that fall ...