Embryo fossil reveals life appeared earlier than expected

A multinational research team studied 500-million-year-old embryo fossils and found that life appeared at least 100 million years before the Cambrian Explosion period more than 500 million years ago.

According to British magazine Science Report, the team studied 162 intact embryo fossils excavated from south-central China. The fossils are believed to between 550 and 635 million years old. Researches found that these embryos contained cell systems.

Such fossils are thought to be extremely rare and very helpful for scientists exploring the evolution process of embryos.

An American researcher in the team said that by studying the embryo fossils, they were able to understand how the earliest embryos were formed and developed.

By People's Daily Online