• Question: How did life begin?

    Asked by to Naomi on 25 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Naomi Osborne

      Naomi Osborne answered on 25 Jun 2014:

      Hi amorris21!

      It’s believed life began around 3.5 billion years ago when amino acids formed the first single celled organisms – which were able to break down carbon dioxide (Earth’s early atmosphere) into oxygen. When oxygen levels were high enough, it began to be used as an energy source, leading to plants and animals with more than one cell around a million years ago.

      It’s thought the amino acids formed from chemicals in the Earth’s atmosphere, but it’s unknown exactly how it happened!

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