Preserved in glass
Fragments of leaves and organic matter belonging to prehistoric periods have been found in Argentina. The fragments are trapped inside glass which was formed 6,000-9,000 million years ago when asteroids crashed on Earth. Soils in eastern Argentina are dotted with such impact glass and one of these impacts, around 3 million years ago, coincides with the disappearance of 35 animal genera. Such glass pieces could not only give a snapshot of life on Earth, the find suggests that similar impact glass might be present on planets like Mars and could hold clues about life on the planet. Geology,April15(online)