Thursday, October 1, 2009

Katie Powell-Weekly Post

Source: http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/health/ancient-thermometer-reveals-primordial-earths-temperature_10016711.html

Scientists have been using proteins from ancient bacteria to look at the environmental conditions in the past
specifically in the Precambrian Eon. They say that there was a global cooling period throughout the entire
Precambrian eon. They found this out by using by looking at the genes of ancient proteins. Because genes adapt
to environmental conditions they can be an accurate record of what happened at the time when they were around.
From these proteins they can measure the temperature stability within proteins, within organisms. They used 16
different species to construct multiple proteins and measure their heat sensitivity, and compare and contrast
them. Their results were proved accurate by being identical to previous studies done to try to put together what the
oceans temperature was at that time. They concurred that life during the Precambrian was constantly changing as the
Earth evolved and that the temperature was not stable but that life did and continues to evolve and adapt to it's surroundings.

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