Recent discoveries about our planet, its rocks, and other “stone” topics

(Photo above) A new study shows that show that algae occupied an important role in marine ecosystems 1400 million years ago, some 600 million years earlier than previously recognized. Their evolution dramatically changed the Earth allowing oxygen to accumulate into the atmosphere for the first time and further allowing the evolution of oxygen-utilizing organisms including eukaryotes
https://www.sdu.dk/en/nyheder/forskningsnyheder/alge-studier
 

Every year, our planet encounters dust from comets and asteroids. A research program conducted for nearly 20 years has determined that 5,200 tons per year of these micrometeorites reach the ground
http://www.cnrs.fr/en/more-5000-tons-extraterrestrial-dust-fall-earth-each-year
 

Grave goods show gendered roles for Neolithic farmers. Researchers at the University of York analyzed 400 stone objects found in graves at cemetery sites across Europe and noted there were differences in size, weight, and raw material dependent on whether the body was a male or a female
https://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2021/research/gendered-roles-for-neolithic-farmers/
 

New evidence regarding emerald production in Roman Egypt coming from Wadi Sikait. Resuming the archaeological season in the Egyptian Eastern Desert provides proof of emerald mines chronicled by authors like Pliny the Elder and Claudius Ptolemy
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/712784

20.04.2021, USA: 04.20.2021)