A new research has revealed ancient conditions that almost ended life on Earth.
The Tasmanian researchers, who used a new technique they developed to hunt for mineral deposits, found that first life developed in the ancient oceans around 3.6 billion years ago and remained just a little more than a layer of slime for a billion years.
According to University of Tasmania geologist Professor Ross Large, the slowdown in evolution was tightly linked to low levels of oxygen and biologically-important elements in the oceans.
The research will be published in the March issue of the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters.