DAILY GALAXY - Earth’s familiar green landscape might not have always been so. According to new scientific research published in the journal International Journal of Astrobiology, our planet may have once shimmered in shades of purple, driven by a completely different form of life than we know today. This striking idea doesn’t just reshape our view of Earth’s past, it also opens new possibilities for what life might look like on other planets.
A Different Molecule Powered Ancient Life
Researchers Dr. Edward Schwieterman from the University of California, Riverside, and Professor Shiladitya DasSarma from the University of Maryland, both affiliated with NASA, have explored the idea that early life on Earth did not rely on chlorophyll. Instead, it may have used a much simpler molecule known as retinal.