Oldest Trace Fossils Ever Found Might Not Be Fossils

Fossil or faux pas? A 2016 study that interpreted rock anomalies as the oldest evidence of life on our planet got it wrong, say researchers behind a new analysis of some of the same rock. The deformities aren't relics of early microbial life, says the team, but rather a snapshot of geological forces shaping and reshaping our world.
The race to find the very first sign of life on Earth is one of the more heated contests in science — even though, for some, it lacks the glamour