The most recent findings published in the journal Nature shakes up history of life on earth.

The newest recruit into the LSI, Dr. Sean Crowe from the departments of Microbiology & Immunology and Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences discovered that oxygen appeared in the Earth’s atmosphere up to 700 million years earlier than thought.  The study has garnered quite a bit of attention and has been featured on various national and international channels.

UBC website (http://news.ubc.ca/2013/09/25/ancient-soils-reveal-clues-to-early-life-on-earth/)

Faculty of Science website (http://science.ubc.ca/news/728)

Media outlets:

BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24243107

NBC http://www.nbcnews.com/science/earth-had-oxygen-much-earlier-previously-thought-8C11259362

Daily Mail http://www.nbcnews.com/science/earth-had-oxygen-much-earlier-previously-thought-8C11259362

International Business Times http://www.ibtimes.com/oxygen-appeared-earth-700-million-years-earlier-previously-thought-study-1410906

Canadian Press http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/09/25/examination-of-three-billion-year-old-dirt-causes-ubc-scientists-to-take-a-whole-new-view-on-evolution/

CBC http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/ancient-oxygen-discovery-rewrites-history-of-life-on-earth-1.1867976.

S.A. Crowe, L.N. Dossing, N.J. Beukes, M. Bau, S.J. Kruger, R. Frei & D.E. Canfield (2014) Atmospheric oxygenation three billion years ago. Nature 501: 535-538.