3.4bn-year-old fossils found

RELICS of the dawn of life 3.4 billion years ago have been unearthed in Australia.

The microscopic fossils are the oldest ever discovered and date back to a time when the earliest forms of bacteria survived in an oxygen-free world.

“At last we have good solid evidence for life over 3.4 billion years ago,” said Professor Martin Brasier, from the department of earth sciences at Oxford University.