1987/01/01 by Leslie E. Orgel · 4 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Biomedical Research
paper · doi:10.1101/sqb.1987.052.01.004
openalex publication_date 1987/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/14
Compelling fossil evidence shows that cells with morphologies similar to those of modern blue-green algae were already abundant 3.5 billion years ago, i.e., within at most a billion years of the formation of the earth. It seems safe to infer that evolution based on a conventional system of nucleic acids and proteins has led from these or similar simple cells to the diversity of living organisms.