The earliest forms of animal life on our planet continue to fascinate scientists, who are seeking to unravel the mystery of ...

A team of scientists digging up some of the Earth’s oldest rocks has uncovered new chemical evidence that Earth’s first animals were likely ancestors of the modern sea sponge. The discovery relies on ...

A rare chemical indicator suggests sponges may have arrived as the first animals on Earth. A sterol core is primarily composed of four fused carbon rings, along with carbon side chains and other ...

Tom has a Master's degree in Journalism. His editorial work covers anything from archaeology and the environment to technology and culture. Tom has a Master's degree in Journalism. His editorial work ...

Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology analysed chemical fossils from more than 541 million years ago.

What types of animals first existed on Earth long ago? This is what a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences hopes to address as a team of scientists ...

The term “ecosystem engineering” has been used for decades as a way to describe organisms that drastically alter their ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. David Bressan is a geologist who covers curiosities about Earth.

Fungi’s evolutionary roots stretch far deeper than once believed — up to 1.4 billion years ago, long before plants or animals ...

A team of MIT geochemists has unearthed new evidence in very old rocks suggesting that some of the first animals on Earth were likely ancestors of the modern sea sponge. In a study appearing today in ...