On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
[The following is an exact transcript of this podcast.]
Once upon a time, our atmosphere was a little thin on oxygen. Like, there wasn’t any. Then, about three billion years ago, a handful of bacteria figured out how to harvest the energy from sunlight to make themselves some food. In the process, they consumed carbon dioxide, and gave off oxygen. So the air filled with oxygen, and all was right with the world. If you’ve ever taken an intro biology course, you’ve no doubt heard the tale. Photosynthetic bacteria are the heroes who brought oxygen to our planet.
But maybe there’s more to the story than that. Because in the online issue of Nature Geoscience, researchers from Australia say: the bacteria didn’t act alone. The scientists looked at atmospheric oxygen levels throughout Earth’s history. And they found that the amount of oxygen in the air spiked each time smaller land masses collided to form a supercontinent, like Pangea. These massive pile-ups generated mountain chains, and as the mountains eroded, they released nutrients into the oceans, feeding the photosynthetic bacteria. So the young Earth and its inhabitants worked together to produce a planet where you can really find inspiration.
—Karen Hopkin
60-Second Science is a daily podcast. Subscribe to this Podcast: RSS | iTunes
Subscribe to Support Independent Journalism
Great science journalism requires human expertise, time, effort and creativity. And it costs money. That’s why I and the journalists here at Scientific American hope you’ll join our community.
When you subscribe, you are supporting staff and freelance journalists who are passionate about telling science stories that are true, important and compelling. Our editors and reporters are often experts in their fields, which means they understand the nuances of big discoveries and can untangle the breakthroughs from the hype. With a subscription, you are also supporting rigorous fact-checking to ensure the words we publish are precise and accurate. And you’re supporting original illustrations, graphics and photos that bring you closer to an advanced laboratory, an ice sheet in Antarctica or a space mission in orbit. You’re helping us craft other types of high-quality journalism as well: Our newsletters are carefully written, edited and curated by staffers you have or will come to know and love. Our Science Quickly podcast is based on original reporting, collaboration with editors and scientists and exacting production.
Subscriptions keep this engine running so we can continue to deliver thoughtful, rigorous and independent science journalism to you. In an era of viral misinformation, this work is crucial. If you value what we do, I hope you’ll consider joining us as a subscriber
