Asbestos May Have Played an Important Role in Earth’s Origins

Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that has been linked to the development of many deadly medical conditions, ranging from asbestosis (a chronic scarring and inflammation of the lungs) to mesothelioma, a rare but aggressive form of cancer that can kill mere months after it is detected.

Asbestos was once commonly used to building components such as tiles, siding, fireproofing, and some textured paints.

Asbestos can cause many deaths per year. Now scientists say this killer substance may have actually made life on Earth possible.

Fissures on the ocean floor lined with a type of asbestos mineral called chrysotile are now believed by some scientists to be a likely place for Earth’s first life forms to have originated over 3.5 billion years ago.

To mimic the environment of a prehistoric sea floor, Naoto Yoshida and Nori Fujiura of the University of Miyazaki in Japan formed a bacterial biofilm on a layer of gum.

Next, the scientists added a layer of chrysotile minerals, bacterial DNA molecules, and silica beads representing inert rock. They then shook the mix for 60 seconds to mimic the low-energy tremors that would have occurred early in Earth’s history as volcanic eruptions shook the globe.

The scientists found that their experiment showed it was possible early bacteria would have been able to exchange genetic material under these conditions. Such gene transfer “would be sufficient to increase genetic variation and promote evolution”, says Yoshida.

“It makes sense,” says David Cohen, a scientist at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. “The little mineral needles are puncturing the cells and allowing the plasmids in. It’s the same mechanism that punctures lung cells in asbestosis.”