@dailymail: Scientists have discovered chemical traces of life in a 3.33 billion year old rock layer in South Africa, suggesting simple microbes were wriggling on Earth far earlier than previously believed. The Carnegie Institution for Science team used AI to scan hundreds of samples, identifying biosignatures too faint for humans to see. Researchers also found evidence of oxygen producing photosynthesis at least 2.5 billion years ago, hundreds of millions of years earlier than earlier records. #Science #news #earth