New method also detects molecular signs of photosynthesis almost 1 billion years earlier than previously documented; Combining chemistry and AI, pioneering method could revolutionize search for extraterrestrial life

Pairing cutting-edge chemistry with artificial intelligence, a multidisciplinary team of scientists today published fresh chemical evidence of Earth’s earliest life – concealed in 3.3-billion-year-old rocks – and molecular evidence that oxygen-producing photosynthesis was occurring over 800 million years earlier than previously documented.

In a groundbreaking study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists from the Carnegie Institution for Science and several partner universities and institutions analyzed over 400 samples, including ancient sediments, fossils, modern plants and animals, and even meteorites, to see if life’s signature still exists in rocks long after the original biomolecules are gone.

Using high-tech chemical analysis to break down both organic and inorganic materials, Michael L. Wong, Anirudh Prabhu, and colleagues trained AI to recognize chemical ‘fingerprints’ left behind by life – signals that can still be detected even after billions of years of geological wear and tear.

The results prove the possibility of distinguishing materials of biological origin (like microbes, plants and animals) from materials of non-living origin (like meteoritic or synthetic carbon) with over 90% accuracy. 

Impressively, these methods teased out chemical patterns unique to biology in rocks as old as 3.3 billion years.  Previously, no such traces had been found in rocks older than about 1.7 billion years.  The results, therefore, roughly double the window of time in which organic molecules preserved in rocks can reveal useful information about the physiology and evolutionary relationships of their original organisms.

The work also provides molecular evidence that oxygen-producing photosynthesis (the process used by plants, algae and many microorganisms to harness sunlight) was at work at least 2.5 billion years ago. This finding extends the chemical record of photosynthesis preserved in carbon molecules by over 800 million years.

Besides helping find evidence of Earth’s earliest life, this work advances a potential way to identify traces of life beyond our planet.

Life’s evidence in ancient cells battered to near obliteration

Earth’s earliest life left behind little in the way of molecular traces. The few fragile remnants such as ancient cells and microbial mats were buried, crushed, heated, and fractured within Earth’s restless crust before being thrust back to the surface. These transformations all but obliterated biosignatures holding vital clues to the origins and early evolution of life.

Paleobiologists who search for signs of Earth’s most ancient life have long relied mainly on fossil organisms, including microscopic fossils of single cells and filaments, and the mineralized remains of cellular structures such as microbial mats and mound-like stromatolites, which provide convincing evidence of life as far back as 3.5 billion years ago. However, such remains are few and far between. 

A second line of evidence relies on the preservation of diagnostic biomolecules in ancient rocks. Life’s hardiest organic molecules – those derived from cell membranes or some metabolic processes – have been found in sediments as old as 1.7 billion years, while much older carbon-rich rocks preserve isotopic signatures that hint at a vibrant biosphere 3.5 billion years ago.

However, most ancient rocks preserve neither fossil cells nor any surviving biomolecules. The vast majority of ancient carbon-bearing sediments have been heated and altered in ways that break every diagnostic biomolecule into countless small fragments. Those fragments have proven too small and too generic to provide any clues about ancient life – until now.

The new work is based on the hypothesis that life’s molecules are rigorously selected for their biological functions (in keeping with a new law of nature proposed in 2023). Unlike the random distribution of molecules found in carbon-rich meteorites and other abiotic organic mixtures, life makes a few kinds of molecules in high abundance. Each chemical in a living cell has its own function. The new work suggests that the distribution of biomolecular fragments found in old rocks still preserves diagnostic information about the biosphere, even if no original biomolecules remain. 

Indeed, this new research shows that life left behind more than anyone ever realized — faint chemical “whispers” locked deep inside ancient rocks. 

The 406 measured samples came from seven major groups:

• Modern animals: vertebrates (e.g. fish) and invertebrates (e.g. insects).
• Modern plants: including both their photosynthetic parts (e.g. leaves) and non-photosynthetic parts (e.g. roots and sap).
• Fungi: including mushrooms and yeast.
• Fossil materials: e.g. coal, ancient wood, and shale rich in preserved algae.
• Meteorites: carbon-rich space rocks that could resemble prebiotic material.
• Synthetic organic materials: made in labs to simulate early-Earth chemistry.
• Ancient sediments: ranging from hundreds of millions to over 3 billion years old, with uncertain origins.

The team used pyrolysis–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS) to release trapped chemical fragments from each sample. They then used a specific type of machine learning model called “random forest,” which builds hundreds of decision trees to classify data and to extract latent ecological and taxonomic patterns. This is the first study to combine Py-GC-MS data with supervised machine learning to identify biosignatures in multi-billion-year old rocks.

Says team member Dr. Robert Hazen, Senior Staff Scientist at the Carnegie Institution for Science: “Think of it like showing thousands of jigsaw puzzle pieces to a computer and asking whether the original scene was a flower or a meteorite.”

“Rather than focus on individual molecules, we looked for chemical patterns, and those patterns could be true elsewhere in the universe,” Dr. Hazen added. 

“Our results show that ancient life leaves behind more than fossils; it leaves chemical ‘echoes.’ Using machine learning, we can now reliably interpret these echoes for the first time.”

The paper concludes: “Information-rich attributes of ancient organic matter, even though highly degraded and with few if any surviving biomolecules, have much to reveal about the nature and evolution of life.”

A pioneering model

The model’s performance was tested in three main ways:

1. Modern living animals and plants vs non-life samples

Could the model distinguish life-based organic matter from non-living origins (like meteorites or synthetic chemistry)?

• Yes, with up to 98% accuracy on known samples.
• When applied to ancient rock samples, the model found strong evidence for life in multiple 3.3-billion-year-old formations.

2. Photosynthetic vs Non-photosynthetic

Could the model detect signs that an organism once used sunlight for energy?

• Yes, with 93% accuracy.
• The method identified photosynthetic signatures in rocks as old as 2.52 billion years.

3. Plant vs Animal

Could it distinguish plant-based life from animal-based life?

• Yes again, with 95% correct classification in modern samples.
• This type of classification is harder in ancient rocks due to the scarcity of animal fossils in the model’s training set. This is a point of improvement for future work.

Seeing through the fog of time

One key insight was that age makes detection harder. Younger samples from the last 500 million years retained strong biotic signals. For rocks 500 million to 2.5 billion years old, about two-thirds still showed life signatures. But in rocks older than 2.5 billion years, just 47% retained detectable evidence of life.

For each sample, the model didn’t just report “life” or “non-life,” it gave a probability score. If a sample scored above 60% for “biotic,” it was considered a strong hit.

This probability-based approach allows for nuance. For example, a coal sample that had been heated to over 400°C might have lost most of its biological markers and landed in the “uncertain” range. But well-preserved ancient samples—especially those that hadn’t been exposed to intense heat or pressure—still scored confidently in the “biotic” zone.

The authors were also careful not to claim a sample was biotic unless it truly stood apart from abiotic materials, reducing the risk of false positives.

Among the ancient samples that stood out as clear positives:

• Biotic material in 3.33-billion-year-old sediments from e.g. South Africa’s Josefsdal Chert
• Photosynthetic life in 2.52-billion-year-old rocks from e.g. South Africa’s Gamohaan Formation

Why this matters for science, and space exploration

The results suggest that machine learning applied to degraded organic matter can help resolve long-standing debates about the evolution of life on Earth in deep time.

This method could also assist in the search for signs of extraterrestrial life.  If AI can detect biotic “fingerprints” on Earth that survived billions of years, the same technique might work on Martian rocks or even samples from Jupiter’s icy moon Europa.

The authors are careful not to overstate their conclusions. They acknowledge:

• The need for larger, more balanced sample sets, especially more fossil animals and diverse abiotic materials
• Some samples still fall into a gray zone, with mid-range probability scores that don’t allow firm conclusions.
• The method is complementary, not a replacement, for traditional techniques like isotope analysis or fossil morphology.

The team plans to refine their models, explore different types of machine learning, and test their approach on rocks from Earth’s Mars-like deserts.

“This study represents a major leap forward in our ability to decode Earth’s oldest biological signatures,” says Dr. Hazen. “By pairing powerful chemical analysis with machine learning, we have a way to read molecular ‘ghosts’ left behind by early life that still whisper their secrets after billions of years. Earth’s oldest rocks have stories to tell and we’re just beginning to hear them.”

Adds Dr. Wong: “Understanding when photosynthesis emerged helps explain how Earth’s atmosphere became oxygen-rich, a key milestone that allowed complex life, including humans, to evolve.”

“This represents an inspiring example of how modern technology can shine a light on the planet’s most ancient stories and could reshape how we search for ancient life on Earth and other worlds. In future, we plan to test materials like anoxygenic photosynthetic bacteria — possible analogs for extraterrestrial organisms. This is a powerful new tool for astrobiology.”

Says co-first author Dr. Anirudh Prabhu of Carnegie Science: “These samples and the spectral signatures they produce have been studied for decades, but AI offers a powerful new lens that allows us to extract critical information and better understand their nature. Even when degradation makes it difficult to spot signs of life, our machine learning models can still detect the subtle traces left behind by ancient biological processes.”

“What’s exciting is that this approach doesn’t rely on finding recognizable fossils or intact biomolecules. AI didn’t just help us analyze data faster, it allowed us to make sense of messy, degraded chemical data. It opens the door to exploring ancient and alien environments with a fresh lens, guided by patterns we might not even know to look for ourselves.”

********

Further comments

“For decades, we’ve searched ancient rocks for traces of life using a limited set of tools. What’s remarkable about this study is that it adds whole new dimensions – not just better instruments, but better questions. Machine learning helps us uncover biological signals that were effectively invisible before. It’s a leap forward in our ability to read the deep-time record of life on Earth.”

Co-author and paleobiologist Andrew H. Knoll, Harvard University

“For decades, organic geochemists have been examining the rock record looking for the diagnostic molecules that could tell us something about the nature of life at that time. These new techniques allow the data to speak for themselves in new ways, and for scientists to find new patterns faster than ever before.”

Co-author H. James Cleaves II, Howard University, Washington DC 

* * * * *

Fact box

• Technique used: Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (Py-GC-MS)
• Samples analyzed: Over 400 (modern, fossil, meteorite, and synthetic)
• Machine learning success rates:
  • 98% accuracy distinguishing modern life from non-life
  • 95% accuracy distinguishing plants from animals
  • 93% accuracy distinguishing photosynthetic organisms
     
• Oldest signs detected:
  • Life: 3.33 billion-year-old rocks (Josefsdal Chert, South Africa)
  • Photosynthesis: 2.5 billion-year-old rocks (Gamohaan Formation, South Africa)
     
• Potential future applications:
  • Searching for life on Mars, Europa, or other worlds
  • Improving understanding of early Earth ecosystems

********

The full dataset and code are publicly available through the Open Science Framework and github, inviting further research and exploration into ancient biosignatures. Open data repository: 10.17605/OSF.IO/G93CS; Github: https://github.com/PrabhuLab/PyGCMS-Biosign-ML 

News release in full: click here

Coverage highlights

Evolution of plants, animals: “A very special case within a far larger natural phenomenon.” Similar marvels occur with stars, planets, minerals, other complex systems; When a novel configuration works well and function improves, evolution occurs

A paper in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences today describes “a missing law of nature,” recognizing for the first time an important norm within the natural world’s workings.  

In essence, the new law states that complex natural systems evolve to states of greater patterning, diversity, and complexity. In other words, evolution is not limited to life on Earth, it also occurs in other massively complex systems, from planets and stars to atoms, minerals, and more.

Authored by a nine-member team — leading scientists from the Carnegie Institution for Science, the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and Cornell University, and philosophers from the University of Colorado — the work was funded by the John Templeton Foundation.

“Macroscopic” laws of nature describe and explain phenomena experienced daily in the natural world. Natural laws related to forces and motion, gravity, electromagnetism, and energy, for example, were described more than 150 years ago. 

The new work presents a modern addition — a macroscopic law recognizing evolution as a common feature of the natural world’s complex systems, which are characterised as follows:

• They are formed from many different components, such as atoms, molecules, or cells, that can be arranged and rearranged repeatedly
• Are subject to natural processes that cause countless different arrangements to be formed
• Only a small fraction of all these configurations survive in a process called “selection for function.”   

Regardless of whether the system is living or nonliving, when a novel configuration works well and function improves, evolution occurs. 

The authors’ “Law of Increasing Functional Information” states that the system will evolve “if many different configurations of the system undergo selection for one or more functions.”

“An important component of this proposed natural law is the idea of ‘selection for function,’” says Carnegie astrobiologist Dr. Michael L. Wong, first author of the study.

In the case of biology, Darwin equated function primarily with survival—the ability to live long enough to produce fertile offspring. 

The new study expands that perspective, noting that at least three kinds of function occur in nature. 

The most basic function is stability – stable arrangements of atoms or molecules are selected to continue. Also chosen to persist are dynamic systems with ongoing supplies of energy. 

The third and most interesting function is “novelty”—the tendency of evolving systems to explore new configurations that sometimes lead to startling new behaviors or characteristics. 

Life’s evolutionary history is rich with novelties—photosynthesis evolved when single cells learned to harness light energy, multicellular life evolved when cells learned to cooperate, and species evolved thanks to advantageous new behaviors such as swimming, walking, flying, and thinking. 

The same sort of evolution happens in the mineral kingdom. The earliest minerals represent particularly stable arrangements of atoms. Those primordial minerals provided foundations for the next generations of minerals, which participated in life’s origins. The evolution of life and minerals are intertwined, as life uses minerals for shells, teeth, and bones.

Indeed, Earth’s minerals, which began with about 20 at the dawn of our Solar System, now number almost 6,000 known today thanks to ever more complex physical, chemical, and ultimately biological processes over 4.5 billion years. 

In the case of stars, the paper notes that just two major elements – hydrogen and helium – formed the first stars shortly after the big bang. Those earliest stars used hydrogen and helium to make about 20 heavier chemical elements. And the next generation of stars built on that diversity to produce almost 100 more elements.

“Charles Darwin eloquently articulated the way plants and animals evolve by natural selection, with many variations and traits of individuals and many different configurations,” says co-author Robert M. Hazen of Carnegie Science, a leader of the research.

“We contend that Darwinian theory is just a very special, very important case within a far larger natural phenomenon. The notion that selection for function drives evolution applies equally to stars, atoms, minerals, and many other conceptually equivalent situations where many configurations are subjected to selective pressure.”

The co-authors themselves represent a unique multi-disciplinary configuration: three philosophers of science, two astrobiologists, a data scientist, a mineralogist, and a theoretical physicist.

Says Dr. Wong: “In this new paper, we consider evolution in the broadest sense—change over time—which subsumes Darwinian evolution based upon the particulars of ‘descent with modification.’”  

“The universe generates novel combinations of atoms, molecules, cells, etc. Those combinations that are stable and can go on to engender even more novelty will continue to evolve. This is what makes life the most striking example of evolution, but evolution is everywhere.”

Among many implications, the paper offers: 

1. Understanding into how differing systems possess varying degrees to which they can continue to evolve. “Potential complexity” or “future complexity” have been proposed as metrics of how much more complex an evolving system might become
2. Insights into how the rate of evolution of some systems can be influenced artificially. The notion of functional information suggests that the rate of evolution in a system might be increased in at least three ways: (1) by increasing the number and/or diversity of interacting agents, (2) by increasing the number of different configurations of the system; and/or 3) by enhancing the selective pressure on the system (for example, in chemical systems by more frequent cycles of heating/cooling or wetting/drying).
3. A deeper understanding of generative forces behind the creation and existence of complex phenomena in the universe, and the role of information in describing them
4. An understanding of life in the context of other complex evolving systems. Life shares certain conceptual equivalencies with other complex evolving systems, but the authors point to a future research direction, asking if there is something distinct about how life processes information on functionality (see also https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2022.0810).
5. Aiding the search for life elsewhere: if there is a demarcation between life and non-life that has to do with selection for function, can we identify the “rules of life” that allow us to discriminate that biotic dividing line in astrobiological investigations? (See also https://conta.cc/3LwLRYS, “Did Life Exist on Mars? Other Planets? With AI’s Help, We May Know Soon”)
6. At a time when evolving AI systems are an increasing concern, a predictive law of information that characterizes how both natural and symbolic systems evolve is especially welcome

Laws of nature – motion, gravity, electromagnetism, thermodynamics – etc. codify the general behavior of various macroscopic natural systems across space and time. 

The “law of increasing functional information” published today complements the 2nd law of thermodynamics, which states that the entropy (disorder) of an isolated system increases over time (and heat always flows from hotter to colder objects).

* * * * *

Comments

“This is a superb, bold, broad, and transformational article.  …  The authors are approaching the fundamental issue of the increase in complexity of the evolving universe. The purpose is a search for a ‘missing law’ that is consistent with the known laws.

“At this stage of the development of these ideas, rather like the early concepts in the mid-19th century of coming to understand ‘energy’ and ‘entropy,’ open broad discussion is now essential.”

Stuart Kauffman, Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle WA

“The study of Wong et al. is like a breeze of fresh air blowing over the difficult terrain at the trijunction of astrobiology, systems science and evolutionary theory. It follows in the steps of giants such as Erwin Schrödinger, Ilya Prigogine, Freeman Dyson and James Lovelock. In particular, it was Schrödinger who formulated the perennial puzzle: how can complexity increase — and drastically so! — in living systems, while they remain bound by the Second Law of thermodynamics? In the pile of attempts to resolve this conundrum in the course of the last 80 years, Wong et al. offer perhaps the best shot so far.”

“Their central idea, the formulation of the law of increasing functional information, is simple but subtle: a system will manifest an increase in functional information if its various configurations generated in time are selected for one or more functions. This, the authors claim, is the controversial ‘missing law’ of complexity, and they provide a bunch of excellent examples. From my admittedly quite subjective point of view, the most interesting ones pertain to life in radically different habitats like Titan or to evolutionary trajectories characterized by multiple exaptations of traits resulting in a dramatic increase in complexity. Does the correct answer to Schrödinger’s question lie in this direction? Only time will tell, but both my head and my gut are curiously positive on that one. Finally, another great merit of this study is worth pointing out: in this day and age of rabid Counter-Enlightenment on the loose, as well as relentless attacks on the freedom of thought and speech, we certainly need more unabashedly multidisciplinary and multicultural projects like this one.”

Milan Cirkovic, Astronomical Observatory of Belgrade, Serbia; The Future of Humanity Institute, Oxford University

The natural laws we recognize today cannot yet account for one astounding characteristic of our universe—the propensity of natural systems to “evolve.” As the authors of this study attest, the tendency to increase in complexity and function through time is not specific to biology, but is a fundamental property observed throughout the universe. Wong and colleagues have distilled a set of principles which provide a foundation for cross-disciplinary discourse on evolving systems. In so doing, their work will facilitate the study of self-organization and emergent complexity in the natural world.

Corday Selden, Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University

The paper “On the roles of function and selection in evolving systems” provides an innovative, compelling, and sound theoretical framework for the evolution of complex systems, encompassing both living and non-living systems. Pivotal in this new law is functional information, which quantitatively captures the possibilities a system has to perform a function. As some functions are indeed crucial for the survival of a living organism, this theory addresses the core of evolution and is open to quantitative assessment. I believe this contribution has also the merit of speaking to different scientific communities that might find a common ground for open and fruitful discussions on complexity and evolution.

Andrea Roli, Assistant Professor, Università di Bologna.

* * * * * 

About Carnegie Science

https://carnegiescience.edu/about

Coverage highlights:

Science Alert via MSN.com, United States (129,050,236) Missing ‘Law of Nature’ Found That Describes The Way All Things Evolvehttps://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/missing-law-of-nature-found-that-describes-the-way-all-things-evolve/ar-AA1ijhsB

Reuters US, United States (44,230,271) Scientists propose sweeping new law of nature, expanding on evolution https://www.reuters.com/science/scientists-propose-sweeping-new-law-nature-expanding-evolution-2023-10-16/

Daily Express, United Kingdom (24,100,000) ‘Missing law of nature’ revealed by leading scientists and philosophers
https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1824484/missing-law-nature-evolution-increasing-functional-information

Abril, Brazil (19,941,932) Cientistas identificam lei natural “perdida” na teoria evolutivaScientists identify natural law “lost” in evolutionary theoryhttps://veja.abril.com.br/ciencia/cientistas-identificam-lei-natural-perdida-na-teoria-evolutiva/

VICE, United States (12,900,379) Scientists Unveil ‘Missing Law’ of Nature That Explains How Everything In the Universe Evolved, Including Ushttps://www.vice.com/en/article/4a3bgw/scientists-unveil-missing-law-of-nature-that-explains-how-everything-in-the-universe-evolved-including-us

The Guardian, United Kingdom (3,254,937) ‘Survival of the fittest’ may also apply to the nonliving, report finds https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/oct/16/survival-of-the-fittest-may-also-apply-to-the-nonliving-report-finds

Full coverage summary, click here

News release in full, click here

‘Holy Grail of astrobiology’: Machine learning technique reveals a sample’s biological or non-biological origin with 90% accuracy

Scientists have discovered a simple and reliable test for signs of past or present life on other planets – “the holy grail of astrobiology.”

In the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a seven-member team, funded by the John Templeton Foundation and led by Jim Cleaves and Robert Hazen of the Carnegie Institution for Science, reports that, with 90% accuracy, their artificial intelligence-based method distinguished modern and ancient biological samples from those of abiotic origin.

“This routine analytical method has the potential to revolutionize the search for extraterrestrial life and deepen our understanding of both the origin and chemistry of the earliest life on Earth,” says Dr. Hazen.  “It opens the way to using smart sensors on robotic spacecraft, landers and rovers to search for signs of life before the samples return to Earth.”

Most immediately, the new test could reveal the history of mysterious, ancient rocks on Earth, and possibly that of samples already collected by the Mars Curiosity rover’s Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument. The latter tests could be conducted using an onboard analytical instrument nicknamed “SAM” (for Sample Analysis at Mars.  (NASA photos at https://bit.ly/3P8V8II).

“We’ll need to tweak our method to match SAM’s protocols, but it’s possible that we already have data in hand to determine if there are molecules on Mars from an organic Martian biosphere.”

“The search for extraterrestrial life remains one of the most tantalizing endeavors in modern science,” says lead author Jim Cleaves of the Earth and Planets Laboratory, Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, DC.  

“The implications of this new research are many, but there are three big takeaways: First, at some deep level, biochemistry differs from abiotic organic chemistry; second, we can look at Mars and ancient Earth samples to tell if they were once alive; and third, it is likely this new method could distinguish alternative biospheres from those of Earth, with significant implications for future astrobiology missions.”

The innovative analytical method does not rely simply on identifying a specific molecule or group of compounds in a sample.

Instead, the researchers demonstrated that AI can differentiate biotic from abiotic samples by

detecting subtle differences within a sample’s molecular patterns as revealed by pyrolysis gas chromatography analysis (which separates and identifies a sample’s component parts), followed by mass spectrometry (which determines the molecular weights of those components).

Vast multidimensional data from the molecular analyses of 134 known abiotic or biotic carbon-rich samples were used to train AI to predict a new sample’s origin. With approximately 90% accuracy, AI successfully identified samples that had originated from:

• Living things, such as modern shells, teeth, bones, insects, leaves, rice, human hair, and cells preserved in fine-grained rock
• Remnants of ancient life altered by geological processing (e.g. coal, oil, amber, and carbon-rich fossils), or
• Samples with abiotic origins, such as pure laboratory chemicals (e.g., amino acids) and

carbon-rich meteorites.

The authors add that until now the origins of many ancient carbon-bearing samples have been difficult to determine because collections of organic molecules, whether biotic or abiotic, tend to degrade over time. 

Surprisingly, in spite of significant decay and alteration, the new analytical method detected signs of biology preserved in some instances over hundreds of millions of years. 

Says Dr. Hazen: “We began with the idea that the chemistry of life differs fundamentally from that of the inanimate world; that there are ‘chemical rules of life’ that influence the diversity and distribution of biomolecules. If we could deduce those rules, we can use them to guide our efforts to model life’s origins or to detect subtle signs of life on other worlds.”

“These results mean that we may be able to find a lifeform from another planet, another biosphere, even if it is very different from the life we know on Earth.  And, if we do find signs of life elsewhere, we can tell if life on Earth and other planets derived from a common or different origin.”

“Put another way, the method should be able to detect alien biochemistries, as well as Earth life. That is a big deal because it’s relatively easy to spot the molecular biomarkers of Earth life, but we cannot assume that alien life will use DNA, amino acids, etc. Our method looks for patterns in molecular distributions that arise from life’s demand for “functional” molecules.

“What really astonished us was that we trained our machine-learning model to predict only two sample types – biotic or abiotic – but the method discovered three distinct populations: abiotic, living biotic, and fossil biotic.  In other words, it could tell more recent biological samples from fossil samples – a newly plucked leaf or vegetable, say, versus something that died long ago. This surprising finding gives us optimism that other attributes such as photosynthetic life or eukaryotes (cells with a nucleus) might also be distinguished.”

To explain the role of AI, co-author Anirudh Prabhu of the Carnegie Institution for Science uses the idea of separating coins using different attributes – monetary value, metal, year, weight or radius, for example – then going further to find combinations of attributes that create more nuanced separations and groupings. “And when hundreds of such attributes are involved, AI algorithms are invaluable to collate the information and create highly nuanced insights.”

Adds Dr. Cleaves: “From a chemical standpoint, the differences between biotic and abiotic samples relate to things like water solubility, molecular weights, volatility and so on.”

“The simple way I would think about this is that a cell has a membrane and an interior, called the cytosol; the membrane is pretty water-insoluble, while the cell’s content is pretty water-soluble. That arrangement keeps the membrane assembled as it tries to minimize its components’ contacts with water and also keeps the ‘inside components’ from leaking across the membrane.”

“The inside components can also stay dissolved in water despite being extremely large molecules like chromosomes and proteins,” he says. 

“So, if one breaks a living cell or tissue into its components, one gets a mix of very water-soluble molecules and very water-insoluble molecules spread across a spectrum. Things like petroleum and coal have lost most of the water-soluble material over their long histories.”

“Abiological samples can have unique distributions across this spectrum relative to each other, but they are also distinct from the biological distributions.”

The technique may soon resolve a number of scientific mysteries on Earth, including the origin of 3.5 billion-year-old black sediments from Western Australia (photo at https://bit.ly/3YWbZ4Z) — hotly debated rocks that some researchers contend hold Earth’s oldest fossil microbes, while others claim they are devoid of life signs.

Other samples from ancient rocks in Northern Canada, South Africa, and China evoke similar debates. 

“We’re applying our methods right now to address these long-standing questions about the biogenicity of the organic material in these rocks,” Hazen says.

And new ideas have poured forth about the potential contributions of this new approach in other fields such as biology, paleontology and archaeology. 

“If AI can easily distinguish biotic from abiotic, as well as modern from ancient life, then what other insights might we gain? For example, could we tease out whether an ancient fossil cell had a nucleus, or was photosynthetic?” says Dr. Hazen.

“Could it analyze charred remains and discriminate different kinds of wood from an archeological site? It’s as if we are just dipping our toes in the water of a vast ocean of possibilities.” 

* * * * *

Comments

“Cleaves and colleagues’ innovative method of distinguishing biological from abiotic organic matter is a gift for astrobiologists and, quite possibly, for students of Earth’s early history as well.  There is much still to be learned, but one day a next-generation version of their system may well fly to Mars, evaluating the possibility of life on the red planet, while its Earth-bound sisters illuminate life’s antiquity on our own planet.”

Andrew H. Knoll, Fisher Research Professor of Natural History and Research Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences Emeritus, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University

“I think this new study is very exciting! It is a new avenue of research to explore as it appears to discriminate abiotic from biotic organic matter based on its molecular complexity and could potentially be a fantastic tool for astrobiology missions. It would also be very interesting to test this new method on some of the oldest putative and debated traces of Earth life as well as on modern and fossil organisms from the three domains of life! This might help to solve some hot debates in our community!” 

Emmanuelle J. Javaux, Head, Early Life Traces and Evolution-Astrobiology Lab, and Director, Astrobiology Research Unit, University of Liège, Belgium

“We are in great need of biosignatures for life that don’t depend on looking for a specific type of biomolecule that may be universal to all life on Earth, but not universal to all life outside of Earth. This paper identifies a path forward for using a relatively easily measured chemical signature and determining whether it is likely to be indicative of life or not, without presuming that life outside of Earth will use the same biomolecules as life on Earth. This same statistical approach might be applicable to other types of measurements too, expanding the range of measurements that can be used to identify agnostic biosignatures of life.”

Karen Lloyd, Professor, Department of Microbiology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

“This provides an important potential tool to identify life both on other planets and also in distant periods of Earth’s past. Importantly the technique can already be utilized on spacecraft that can travel to different parts of the solar system in our search for life elsewhere than Earth. 

Daniel Gregory, Assistant Professor,Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto

* * * * *

The paper: “A robust agnostic molecular biosignature based on machine learning”

Authors:

H. James Cleaves II

• Earth and Planets Laboratory, Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, DC
• Department of Chemistry, Howard University, Washington, DC
• Blue Marble Space Institute for Science, Seattle, WA

Robert M. Hazen

Anirudh Prabhu

George D. Cody

• Earth and Planets Laboratory, Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, DC

Michael L. Wong

• Earth and Planets Laboratory, Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, DC
• NHFP Sagan Fellow, NASA Hubble Fellowship Program, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD

Grethe Hystad

• Mathematics and Statistics, Purdue University Northwest, Hammond, IN

Sophia Economon

• Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD

* * * * * 

Photos

A carbon-rich black chert from Western Australia

Photo: https://bit.ly/3YWbZ4Z

One of the most tantalizing applications of the new method is the resolution of a decades-old debate regarding the origins of organic molecules in the 3.5-billion-year-old Apex Chert from the wilds of Western Australia.  

This enigmatic black rock contains small quantities of carbon-rich residues–just enough to turn the chert a lustrous black. Some scientists have long argued that this formation holds the earliest record of cellular life in the form of tiny spheres and filaments – shapes that mimic modern microbes.  

Other researchers insist that the black residues formed from high-temperature processes that have nothing to do with life. Research now in progress will apply the new biosignature method to the Apex Chert, as well as many other similarly enigmatic ancient rocks from Greenland, South Africa, India, and China.

* * * * * 

Trilobites

Despite being 400-500 million years old, carbonized trilobite exoskeletons similar to these were sampled and clearly distinguished as biotic using this new analytical method:

1) Metacanthina sp. from Morocco, Devonian Period (~400 million years old), 7 cm maximum dimension

Photo: https://bit.ly/3P20Qfr 

2) Koneprussia sp. from Morocco, Devonian Period (~400 million years old), 3.5 cm across.

Photo: https://bit.ly/45zUUji 

3) Olenoides sp., Utah, Cambrian Period (~500 million years old), 8 cm maximum dimension.

Photo: https://bit.ly/3OyYyTq 

4) Apianurus rusti, New York, Ordovician Period (~450 million years old), 5 cm maximum dimension.

Photo: https://bit.ly/3OGWvwL

(photo credits: Hazen Collection, National Museum of Natural History, Washington DC) 

* * * * * 

About Carnegie Science https://carnegiescience.edu/about

* * * * * 

Coverage highlights

BBC, United Kingdom (154,922,793)
Aliens: Scientists use AI to search for extra-terrestrial life
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/66945738

Daily Mail, United Kingdom (92,595,767)Is this the key to finding life beyond Earth? Scientists develop an AI system that can detect aliens with 90% accuracyhttps://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-12557735/Is-key-finding-life-Earth-Scientists-develop-AI-detect-aliens-90-accuracy.html

Forbes, United States (76,850,849)New AI Could Help Find Life On Mars With 90% Accuracy, Say Scientists https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2023/09/25/new-ai-could-help-find-life-on-mars-with-90-accuracy-say-scientists/

The Independent, United Kingdom (56,584,707)Scientists develop simple test to help us find alien life https://www.independent.co.uk/space/alien-life-extraterrestrial-mars-ai-b2418321.html

Sunday Mirror, United Kingdom (44,468,983)Scientists find way to confirm life on other planets in extraordinary alien breakthrough https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/scientists-find-way-confirm-life-31026629

London Evening Standard, United Kingdom (17,674,624)Scientists develop method of identifying life on other planets https://www.standard.co.uk/tech/science/scientists-earth-dna-sam-mars-b1109368.html

The Guardian, United Kingdom (3,367,304)Scientists hail pioneering software in hunt for alien lifehttps://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/sep/25/scientists-hail-pioneering-software-in-hunt-for-alien-life

Agencia EFE, via Vanguardia, Colombia (2,637,854)
La IA se convierte en la clave para detectar vida extraterrestre https://www.vanguardia.com/mundo/la-ia-se-convierte-en-la-clave-para-detectar-vida-extraterrestre-XN7618505

El Mundo, Spain (31,866,879)
La inteligencia artificial está aprendiendo a encontrar vida extraterrestrehttps://www.elmundo.es/ciencia-y-salud/ciencia/2023/09/25/65117c2afdddff02bb8b45b3.html

GEO, France (6,996,627)L’IA pourrait aider les scientifiques à détecter la vie sur Mars, et ailleurs dans l’univershttps://www.geo.fr/environnement/astrobiologie-ia-pourrait-aider-scientifiques-detecter-vie-mars-et-ailleurs-dans-univers-analyse-echantillons-curiosity-216800

The Messenger, United States (3,343,993)
Scientists Design AI To Detect Alien Life with 90% Accuracyhttps://themessenger.com/tech/scientists-design-ai-to-detect-alien-life-with-90-accuracy

Earth.com, United States (2,360,268)Is there really life beyond Earth? AI will soon solve this mystery https://www.earth.com/news/is-there-really-life-beyond-earth-ai-will-soon-solve-this-mystery/

El Especial, United States (3,521)La Inteligencia Artificial permitirá establecer si existe vida extraterrestre https://elespecial.com/la-inteligencia-artificial-permitira-establecer-si-existe-vida-extraterrestre

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El Independiente, Spain (4,696,708)El revolucionario método con IA para detectar vida en otros planetas: “Es el santo grial de la astrobiología”https://www.elindependiente.com/futuro/inteligencia-artificial/2023/09/25/el-revolucionario-metodo-con-ia-para-detectar-vida-en-otros-planetas-es-el-santo-grial-de-la-astrobiologia/

Asahi Shimbun via Yahoo!ニュース, Japan (89,937,333)90％で生命の痕跡を発見できるアルゴリズム開発–分子パターンの微細な違いを検出Algorithm development that allows 90 % to find traces of life -detection of fine differences in molecular patternshttps://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/8c02086c88e9d68b352a73008055a0ad3e9198fe

Infobae, Argentina (62,231,555)Este método basado en inteligencia artificial detecta vida en otros planetasThis method based on artificial intelligence detects life on other planets https://www.infobae.com/tecno/2023/09/28/este-metodo-basado-en-inteligencia-artificial-detecta-vida-en-otros-planetas/

The Week via Yahoo! News, United States (61,429,064)The week’s good news: Sept. 28, 2023https://news.yahoo.com/weeks-good-news-sept-28-190313752.html

The Indian Express, India (43,451,001)Scientists develop new artificial intelligence method to look for life on other planetshttps://indianexpress.com/article/technology/science/artificial-intelligence-method-life-other-planets-8961690/

Detik, Indonesia (33,399,426)Ilmuwan Kembangkan AI untuk Deteksi Tanda Kehidupan di Luar Angkasa Scientists Develop AI for Detection of Signs of Life in Spacehttps://www.detik.com/edu/detikpedia/d-6955380/ilmuwan-kembangkan-ai-untuk-deteksi-tanda-kehidupan-di-luar-angkasa

O Estado de S. Paulo, Brazil (14,483,556)Inteligência artificial ajuda na busca por vida extraterrestreArtificial Intelligence helps in the search for extraterrestrial life https://www.estadao.com.br/ciencia/inteligencia-artificial-ajuda-na-busca-por-vida-extraterrestre/

Europa Press, Spain (10,659,065)
La IA ayudará a saber pronto si hubo vida en Marte(AI will help to know soon if there was life on Mars) https://www.europapress.es/ciencia/misiones-espaciales/noticia-ia-ayudara-saber-pronto-si-hubo-vida-marte-20230926113344.html

ANSA, via Tiscali, Italy (2,872,249)L’IA cerca nelle molecole tracce di vita aliena(The IA is looking for traces of alien life in the molecules)https://innovazione.tiscali.it/news/articoli/l-ia-cerca-nelle-molecole-tracce-vita-aliena/ … (ANSA) – ROMA, 26 SET – Analizzare qualsiasi tipo di molecola in cerca di tracce di vita alinea: riesce a farlo con una precisione del 90% …

Agenzia Giornalistica Italia, Italy (3,242,178)C’è vita nello spazio? L’AI potrebbe rispondere con una precisione del 90%(Is there life in space? AI could respond with a precision of 90%)https://www.agi.it/scienza/news/2023-09-27/vita-spazio-ai-potrebbe-rispondere-23194446/

IndoAsian News Service via Zee News, India (36,248,291) AI May Help Find Life On Mars, Other Planets With 90% Accuracyhttps://zeenews.india.com/technology/ai-may-help-find-life-on-mars-other-planets-with-90-accuracy-2667634.html

Der Tagesspiegel, Germany (9,704,421)Astrobiologie : KI soll die Suche nach Aliens revolutionierenAstrobiology: AI is supposed to revolutionize the search for alienshttps://www.tagesspiegel.de/wissen/astrobiologie-ki-soll-die-suche-nach-aliens-revolutionieren-10529587.html

Salon, via Yahoo! News, United States (61,429,064)A simple algorithm could reveal the ghosts of alien life in Mars dirt, study findshttps://news.yahoo.com/simple-algorithm-could-reveal-ghosts-160101168.html

Euronews, France (22,774,660)Is there alien life on Mars? Scientists believe AI test could help unlock the Red Planet’s secrets
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Space.com, United States (15,588,323)New AI algorithm can detect signs of life with 90% accuracy. Scientists want to send it to Mars https://www.space.com/new-ai-method-detect-life-rock-samples-90-percent-accuracy

Astronomy Magazine, United StatesCan AI find life in the universe? Sophisticated technologies are making inroads on the search for life in the cosmoshttps://www.astronomy.com/science/can-ai-find-life-in-the-universe/

Frankfurter Rundschau, Germany (10,348,052)
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UK Press Association, United Kingdom via The Independent (56,584,707), Scientists develop method of identifying life on other planets
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Live Science, United States (10,524,315)Scientists created AI that could detect alien life — and they’re not entirely sure how it works https://www.livescience.com/space/extraterrestrial-life/scientists-created-ai-that-could-detect-alien-life-and-theyre-not-entirely-sure-how-it-works

La Razón, Spain (13,940,544) ¿Existió la vida en Marte? Una IA tiene la clave  https://www.larazon.es/ciencia/existio-vida-marte_202309256511d95398383a00019d055f.html

De Standaard, Belgium (6,772,483)Is er leven op Pluto? AI speurt mee  https://share.belga.press/news/0034163a-d673-4c30-8db0-147c72f72f53

Full coverage summary, click here

News release in full, click here

Water helped 80+% of mineral species to form

Biology had a direct or indirect role in ~50%

One-third formed exclusively through biological processes

Pyrite (“Fool’s Gold”) formed in 21 ways — the most of any mineral; Diamonds formed in nine ways – from outer space to deep Earth

* * * * *

A 15-year study led by the Carnegie Institution for Science details the origins and diversity of every known mineral on Earth, a landmark body of work that will help reconstruct the history of life on Earth, guide the search for new minerals and ore deposits, predict possible characteristics of future life, and aid the search for habitable planets and extraterrestrial life.

In twin papers published today by American Mineralogist and sponsored in part by NASA, Carnegie scientists Robert Hazen and Shaunna Morrison detail a novel approach to clustering (lumping) kindred species of minerals together or splitting off new species based on when and how they originated.

Once mineral genesis is factored in, the number of “mineral kinds” — a newly-coined term — totals more than 10,500, a number about 75% greater than the roughly 6,000 mineral species recognized by the International Mineralogical Association (IMA) on the basis of crystal structure and chemical composition alone.

“This work fundamentally changes our view of the diversity of minerals on the planet,” says Dr. Hazen, Staff Scientist with the Earth and Planets Laboratory, Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington DC.

80% of Earth’s minerals were mediated by water

“For example, more than 80% of Earth’s minerals were mediated by water, which is, therefore, fundamentally important to mineral diversity on this planet. By extension, this explains one of the key reasons why the Moon and Mercury and even Mars have far fewer mineral species than Earth.”

“The work also tells us something very profound about the role of biology,” he adds. “One third of Earth’s minerals could not have formed without biology – shells and bones and teeth, or microbes, for example, or the vital indirect role of biology, such as by creating an oxygen-rich atmosphere that led to 2,000 minerals that wouldn’t have formed otherwise.” 

“Each mineral specimen has a history. Each tells a story. Each is a time capsule that reveals Earth’s past as nothing else can.”

40% of Earth’s mineral species formed in more than one way

According to the paper, nature created 40% of Earth’s mineral species in more than one way – for example, both abiotically and with a helping hand from cells – and in several cases used more than 15 different recipes to produce the same crystal structure and chemical composition. 

Of the 5,659 recognized mineral species surveyed by Hazen and colleagues, nine came into being via 15 or more different physical, chemical and/or biological processes — everything from near-instantaneous formation by lightning or meteor strikes, to changes caused by water-rock interactions or transformations at high pressures and temperature spanning hundreds of millions of years.  

And, as if to show she has a sense of humor, Nature has used 21 different ways over the last 4.5 billion years to create pyrite (aka Fool’s Gold) — the mineral world’s champion of diverse origins. Pyrite forms at high temperature and low, with and without water, with the help of microbes and in harsh environments where life plays no role whatsoever.

Composed of one part iron to two parts sulfide (FeS2), pyrite is derived and delivered via meteorites, volcanos, hydrothermal deposits, by pressure between layers of rock, near-surface rock weathering, microbially-precipitated deposits, several mining-associated processes including coal mine fires, and many other means.

To reach their conclusions, Hazen and Morrison built a database of every known process of formation of every known mineral. Relying on large, open-access mineral databases (mindat.org and rruff.ima/info), amplified by thousands of primary research articles on the geology of mineral localities around the world, they identified 10,556 different combinations of minerals and modes of formation, detailed in the paper, “On the paragenetic modes of minerals: A mineral evolution perspective.”

In all, minerals have come into being in one or more of 57 different ways, according to that paper and a sister paper published simultaneously by the same journal, “Lumping and splitting: toward a classification of mineral natural kinds,” co-authored by Drs. Hazen and Morrison in collaboration with mineralogists Sergey Krivovichev of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Robert Downs of the University of Arizona.

The goal of their efforts: “To understand how the diversity and distribution of minerals have changed through deep time and to propose a system of mineral classification that reflects mineral origins in the context of evolving terrestrial worlds.”

Distinguishing minerals based on how and when each kind appeared through Earth’s 4.5 billion+ year history

In earlier studies over more than a century, thousands of mineralogists worldwide have carefully documented almost 6,000 different “mineral species” based on their unique combinations of chemical composition and crystal structure. Dr. Hazen and colleagues took a different approach, emphasizing how and when each kind of mineral appeared through more than 4.5 billion years of Earth history.

“No one has undertaken this huge task before,” says Dr. Hazen, honoured by the IMA with its 2021 medal for his outstanding achievements in mineral crystal chemistry, particularly in the field of mineral evolution. 

“In these twin papers, we are putting forward our best effort to lay the groundwork for a new approach to recognizing different kinds of minerals. We welcome the insights, additions, and future versions of the mineralogical community.”

The papers’ new insights and conclusions include:  

• Water has played a dominant role in the mineral diversity of Earth, involved in the formation of more than 80% of mineral species.
• Life played a direct or indirect role in the formation of almost half of known mineral species while a third of known minerals — more than 1,900 species — formed exclusively as a consequence of biological activities.
• Rare elements play a disproportionate role in Earth’s mineral diversity. Just 41 elements — together constituting less than 5 parts per million of Earth’s crust — are essential constituents in some 2,400 (over 42%) of Earth’s minerals. The 41 elements include arsenic, cadmium, gold, mercury, silver, titanium, tin, uranium, and tungsten.
• Much of Earth’s mineral diversity was established within the planet’s first 250 million years
• Some 296 known minerals are thought to pre-date Earth itself, of which 97 are known only from meteorites (with the age of some individual mineral grains estimated at 7 billion years — billions of years before the origin of our solar system)
• The oldest known minerals are tiny, durable zircon crystals, almost 4.4 billion years old
• More than 600 minerals have derived from human activities, including over 500 minerals caused by mining, 234 of them formed by coal mine fires

According to the research, 3,349 (59%) of IMA-approved mineral species are known to occur from just one process (paragenetic mode), 1,372 species (24%) from two processes, 458 (8%) from three processes, and the rest, 480 (8%), from four or more processes.

Diamonds, for example, composed of carbon, have originated in at least nine ways, including condensation in the cooling atmospheres of old stars, during a meteorite impact, and under hot ultra-high-pressure deep within the Earth.

These processes led to distinct diamond variants — e.g. stellar, impact, mantle, and ultra-high-pressure — which the authors designate as different “natural kinds.”

The authors propose that, complementary to the IMA-approved mineral list, new categorizations and groupings be created on the basis of a mineral’s genesis (paragenetic mode). 

For example, science can group 400 minerals formed by condensation (whereby a substance transitions directly from gas to solid without passing through a liquid state) at volcanic fumaroles — openings in the Earth’s surface that emit steam and volcanic gasses.

The papers detail other considerations in the clustering and classification of minerals, such as the eon in which they formed. For example, Earth’s “Great Oxidation Event” about 2.3 billion years ago led new minerals to form at the planet’s near-surface. 

And about 4.45 billion years ago, when water first appeared, the earliest water-rock interactions may have produced as many as 350 minerals in near-surface marine and terrestrial environments.

It appears too that hundreds of different minerals may have formed on Earth prior to the giant impact that vaporized much of our planet’s crust and mantle and led to the Moon’s formation about 4.5 billion years ago. If so, those minerals were obliterated, only to reform as Earth cooled and solidified. 

“The sharp contrast between Earth’s large complement of minerals and the relative mineralogical parsimony of the Moon and Mercury, as well as the modest diversity found on Mars, stems from differing influences of water,” the authors say.

In addition to accidental mineral creations in mining fires, humanity has manufactured countless thousands of mineral-like compounds that don’t qualify for recognition by the IMA — building materials, semiconductors, laser crystals, specialty alloys, synthetic gemstones, plastic debris and the like. All, however, are “likely to persist for millions of years in the geologic record, thus providing a clear sedimentary horizon that marks the so-called ‘Anthropocene Epoch’.” 

Meanwhile, there are 77 “biominerals,” according to the paper, formed by a variety of metabolic processes — everything from corals, shells, and stinging nettles, to minerals in bones, teeth and kidney stones. 

Another 72 minerals derive directly or indirectly from the guano and urine of birds and bats. That list includes the rare mineral spheniscidite, which forms when the urine of penguins (order Sphenisciformes, hence the mineral name) reacts with clay minerals beneath a rookery on Elephant Island in the British Antarctic Territory.

Mineral evolution and the origins of life

The authors note that the formation of oceans, the extensive development of continental crust, and perhaps even the initiation of some early form of subduction (the process that drives plate tectonics today) in the early Hadean Eon 4.0 to 4.5 billion years ago, meant many important mineral-forming processes — and as many as 3,534 mineral species — occurred in Earth’s first 250 million years.

“If so, then most of the geochemical and mineralogical environments invoked in models of life’s origins would have been present 4.3 billion years ago,” they say.

If life is “a cosmic imperative that emerges on any mineral- and water-rich world,” the authors say, “then these findings support the hypothesis that life on Earth ​emerged rapidly, in concert with a vibrant, diverse Mineral Kingdom, in the earliest stages of planetary evolution.”

Extraterrestrial mineralogy

The work also points ways forward for future researchers and explorers:

“What mineral-forming environments occur on the Moon, Mars, and other terrestrial worlds? Enumerating paragenetic modes, and placing each mineral species into one or more of those categories, offers an opportunity to evaluate extraterrestrial mineralogy with a new perspective. If Mars had (or still has) a hydrological cycle, what mineralogical manifestations might we expect? For example, are there Martian hydrothermal sulfide deposits and, if so, were a variety of metals mobilized? On the other hand, if the Moon is truly dry, then what paragenetic processes are excluded? And do extraterrestrial bodies display paragenetic processes not seen on Earth, such as cryo-volcanism on Titan?”

The research was supported by the John Templeton Foundation, the NASA Astrobiology Institute ENIGMA team, and the Carnegie Institution for Science. 

* * * * * 

By the numbers

• 5,659: Mineral “species” recognized by the International Mineralogical Association at the time of this research. (That number has since risen to more than 5,800 species) 
• 10,556: Combinations of minerals species and means of origin (“mineral kinds”)
• 57: different physical, chemical or biological processes that created Earth’s minerals
• 40%: Proportion of mineral species that originated in more than one way
• 3,349 (59%): Minerals that occur in just one process (paragenetic mode)
• 1,372 (24%): Minerals that occur in two ways
• 458 (8%): Minerals that occur in three ways
• 480 (8%): Minerals that occur in four or more ways
• 9: Minerals that came into being via 15 or more ways
• 21: Ways in which pyrite (Fool’s Gold) has formed — the most of any mineral
• 9: Ways in which diamonds have formed in environments from outer space to deep Earth 
• 80%: Minerals that water played a dominant role in creating
• ~50%: Minerals in which biology played a direct or indirect role in creating
• 1,900 (about 1/3rd): Minerals formed exclusively by biological processes
• 41: Rare elements (constituting less than 5 parts per million of Earth’s crust) involved in forming 2,400 (over 42%) of minerals
• 296: Mineral thought to pre-date Earth itself
• 97: Minerals known only from meteorites
• 7 billion years (pre-dating our solar system by billions of years): The age of individual mineral grains discovered in meteorites
• Up to 350: Minerals created in near-surface marine and terrestrial environments when water first appeared on Earth ~4.45 billion years ago
• 4.4 billion years: Age of the oldest known mineral created on Earth: zircon crystals
• 3,534: minerals thought to have formed within Earth’s first 250 million years
• 600+: Minerals derived from human activities, including 500+ caused by mining, 234 from coal mine fires
• 77: Biominerals (formed by metabolic processes)
• 72: Minerals derived directly or indirectly from the guano and urine of birds and bats

* * * * * 

Comments

“The remarkable work of Hazen and Morrison provides a potential way to predictably discover possible minerals in nature. Minerals can be key to reconstructing the entire ‘past life’ and predicting the ‘future life’ of Earth,” and understanding mineral evolution “will offer a novel path for us to be able to explore deep space and search for extraterrestrial life and habitable planets in the future.”

• Anhuai Lu, President of the International Mineralogical Association, and Professor, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China (from a commentary published by American Mineralogist, in full at https://bit.ly/3DC5ngI)

“When you think of truly groundbreaking scientists in mineralogy, you think of Robert M. Hazen and his pioneering ways of understanding how minerals evolve. Linking the concepts of minerals and evolution may seem counterintuitive but Hazen and Morrison have demonstrated once again that they are highly connected. Their two new papers demonstrate in a very elegant way the strong evidence that minerals are the most durable, information-rich objects we can study to understand the origin and evolution of planets. To paraphrase a famous Stephen Hawking quote: ‘Hazen and Morrison have become the bearers of the torch of discovery in our quest for knowledge of the mineral kingdom’.”

• Prof. Luca Bindi, Director, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Florence, Italy

“This has been proclaimed the “Year of Mineralogy” by the IMA, part of the UN’s International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development. 2022 was chosen to mark the bicentenary of the death of René Just Haüy, a founding father of crystallography and modern mineralogy. By linking the properties of crystals and their microscopic structure, Haüy brought mineralogy into the physical sciences. At the same time, Antoine Lavoiser published the first modern treatise on chemistry. The framework defined by these two pioneers has remained in force until today: minerals are essentially described, classified, presented by their chemical composition and their crystallographic characteristics.”

“Hazen and colleagues have changed this way of considering minerals. In addition to chemical composition and physical properties, Hazen emphasizes their conditions and contexts of formation, and a new way of seeing minerals appears. Minerals become witnesses, markers of the long history of matter that takes shape in supernova explosions, gathers in planetary systems in formation and even, on a planet like Earth, accompanies the emergence and development of life. Most scientists produce data, some are lucky enough to make discoveries, few are the ones who transform our view of the world. Hazen is one of them.”

• Prof. Patrick Cordier, Université de Lille / Institut Universitaire de France

* * * * * 

About 

The Carnegie Institution for Science: Carnegiescience.edu

Robert Hazen: carnegiescience.edu/scientist/robert-hazen

Shaunna Morrison: epl.carnegiescience.edu/people/shaunna-morrison

Sergey Krivovichev: roscongress.org/en/speakers/krivovichev-sergey/biography/

Robert Downs: geo.arizona.edu/person/robert-downs

International Mineralogical Association: ima-mineralogy.org/

American Mineralogist: minsocam.org/msa/ammin/toc

* * * * *

Media coverage highlights:

BBC-World Service Radio, Science In Action, United Kingdom: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct3695

BBC, United Kingdom, Making minerals: Crushed, zapped, boiled and baked: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-62013806

Daily Mail, United Kingdom, Scientists decode the origins of Earth’s minerals to inform our understanding of other planets – including some that pre-date our planet by billions of years: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-10980411/Scientists-decipher-unique-origins-Earths-minerals-landmark-study.html

New Scientist, United Kingdom: Reclassification of Earth’s minerals reveals 4000 more than we thought: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2326920-reclassification-of-earths-minerals-reveals-4000-more-than-we-thought/

Discover Magazine, United States, Minerals Reveal a New Understanding of Original Life on Earth: https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/minerals-reveal-a-new-understanding-of-original-life-on-earth

Science News, United States, A new look at the ‘mineral kingdom’ may transform how we search for life: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/earth-mineral-kingdom-classification-crystal-search-life

Forbes, United States, Study Details The Origins And Diversity Of Every Known Mineral On Earth: https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidbressan/2022/07/02/study-details-the-origins-and-diversity-of-every-known-mineral-on-earth/

IndoAsian News Service, India, 15-year study details origins, diversity of every known mineral: https://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a1293987.html

Popular Science, Earth has more than 10,000 kinds of minerals. This massive new catalog describes them all: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/earth-has-more-than-10000-kinds-of-minerals-this-massive-new-catalog-describes-them-all/ar-AAZ4C7j

UK Press Association newswire, Scientists detail origins and diversity of every known mineral on Earth: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/pa/article-10973527/Scientists-origins-diversity-known-mineral-Earth.html

Agencia EFE, Spain, Un catálogo de todos los minerales de la Tierra para buscar vida extraterrestre: https://www.elmundo.es/ciencia-y-salud/medio-ambiente/2022/07/01/62beaf07fc6c8360438b456d.html

Europa Press newswire, Spain: Descifran y catalogan los orígenes de los minerales de la Tierra  https://www.europapress.es/ciencia/habitat/noticia-descifran-catalogan-origenes-minerales-tierra-20220701180130.html

VICE, United States, An Unprecedented Number of Minerals Found on Earth Sheds Light on Alien Life: https://www.vice.com/en/article/wxn8bw/an-unprecedented-number-of-minerals-found-on-earth-sheds-light-on-alien-life

MDPI, Switzerland, Mineral Element Insiders and Outliers Play Crucial Roles in Biological Evolution: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/12/7/951/htm

ORF Online, Austria, „Rezepte“ der Mineralentstehung: https://science.orf.at/stories/3213886/

IFL Science, United States, Catalog Of Every Known Mineral On Earth Reveals The Roles Of Water And Life:
https://www.iflscience.com/catalog-of-every-known-mineral-on-earth-reveals-the-roles-of-water-and-life-64283

Jerusalem Post, Israel, Two studies unlock mysteries of Earth’s minerals: https://www.jpost.com/science/article-711034

Ten Cent (腾讯网), Mainland China, Scientific Research Circle Daily (a science news roundup): https://new.qq.com/omn/20220705/20220705A043FU00.html

Sohu 搜狐新闻-搜狐, Mainland China, 研究发现生命帮助制造了地球上几乎一半的矿物 Life helps make almost half of Earth’s minerals, study finds: https://www.sohu.com/a/564251689_120994893

Focus Online, Germany, Bildung irdischer Minerale entschlüsseltFormation of terrestrial minerals decoded:
https://www.focus.de/wissen/natur/bildung-irdischer-minerale-entschluesselt_id_110493316.html

Livemint, India, Can diversity of minerals aid the search for extraterrestrial life? https://lifestyle.livemint.com/smart-living/innovation/can-diversity-of-minerals-aid-the-search-for-extraterrestrial-life-111656898713511.html

Times Now, India, More than 80% of Earth’s 10,500 plus minerals were mediated by water, and that’s why other planets have fewer minerals: https://www.timesnownews.com/technology-science/more-than-80-of-earths-10500-plus-minerals-were-mediated-by-water-and-thats-why-other-planets-have-fewer-minerals-article-92646168

Báo Mới, Viet Nam, Cái nhìn mới về khoáng chất, có thể thay đổi cách chúng ta tìm kiếm sự sống (New look at minerals, could change the way we search for life):
https://baomoi.com/cai-nhin-moi-ve-khoang-chat-co-the-thay-doi-cach-chung-ta-tim-kiem-su-song/c/43082758.epi

GEO magazine, France, Plus de 10.000 types de minéraux sur Terre formés en 57 recettes, estiment des chercheurs (More than 10,000 types of minerals on Earth formed into 57 recipes, researchers estimate) https://www.geo.fr/environnement/plus-de-10000-types-de-mineraux-sur-terre-formes-en-seulement-57-recettes-estiment-des-chercheurs-210725

Asian News International newswire (ANI), India, Nature used 57 recipes to create Earth’s 10,500-plus ‘mineral kinds’: https://www.aninews.in/news/science/nature-used-57-recipes-to-create-earths-10500-plus-mineral-kinds20220704065458/

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