Science journalist Asher Elbein discusses a recent Scientific American feature, “Life’s Big Bangs,” which examines a groundbreaking and controversial theory: life’s complexity may have evolved more than once on Earth. Fossils discovered in Gabon appear to show multicellular structures dating back 2.14 billion years — hundreds of millions of years earlier than scientists once believed possible.
Elbein explains how these “francevillian fossils,” if proven to be genuine life forms, could fundamentally reshape our understanding of evolution and the timeline of eukaryotic life. The conversation also explores why the so-called “boring billion” years of Earth’s history might not have been so boring after all, and how difficult it is to prove whether extremely ancient or even potentially alien specimens were ever truly alive. This episode dives deep into how scientists test, challenge and occasionally overturn our most basic assumptions about life’s origins and evolution.
