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Researchers from the University of Waterloo in Canada have discovered a carbon residue that was once part of an ancient life, preserved in a 2.5 billion-year-old ruby. The findings of their analysis have been published in the November issue of the journal Ore Geology Reviews. The team of seven researchers led by Chris Yakymchuk, professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Waterloo, studied the geology of rubies to better understand the conditions necessary for ruby formation.Researchers came across the rare ruby in Greenland which contains the oldest known deposits of rubies in the world. The team found the ruby sample that contained graphite, a mineral made of pure carbon. Upon its analysis, the team of researchers found that the graphite was a remnant of an early life.
The researchers analysed a property called isotopic composition of the carbon atoms, which measures the relative amounts of different carbon atoms. In a statement, the researchers mentioned that more than 98 percent of all carbon atoms have a mass of 12 atomic mass units, but there are a few carbon atoms that are heavier, with a mass of 13 or 14 atomic mass units.
Yakymchuk said in a statement that the living matter preferentially consists of the lighter carbon atoms because they take less energy to incorporate into cells. However, based on the increased amount of carbon-12 in the graphite found inside the ruby, scientists concluded that the carbon atoms were once ancient life, most likely dead microorganisms such as cyanobacteria.
The graphite found in the rocks is predicted to be older than 2.5 billion years. During that ancient time, oxygen was not in abundance in the atmosphere, and life existed only in microorganisms and algae films, noted the study.
Yakymchuk also mentioned in their statement that the graphite inside the ruby is “really unique” since it is the first time they have seen evidence of ancient life in ruby-bearing rocks. They also added that the presence of graphite also gives them more insight into determining how rubies formed at the location, something that is impossible to do directly based on a ruby’s colour and chemical composition.
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