http://www.astrobio.net/news-exclusive/h...t-evolved/
EXCERPT: We know little about Earth’s surface temperatures for the first 4 billion years or so of its history. This presents a limitation into research of life’s origins on Earth and also how it might arise on distant worlds as well. Now researchers suggest that by resurrecting ancient enzymes they could estimate the temperatures in which these organisms likely evolved billions of years ago. The scientists recently published their findings in the journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. [...] Their research suggests that Earth’s surface cooled from roughly 167º F (75º C) about 3 billion years ago to roughly 95º (35º F) about 420 million years ago. These findings are consistent with previous geological and enzyme-based results. Garcia said such a dramatic cooling is hard to fathom, emphasizing how scientists need to remember how different conditions were in the past when figuring out how life evolved over time....
EXCERPT: We know little about Earth’s surface temperatures for the first 4 billion years or so of its history. This presents a limitation into research of life’s origins on Earth and also how it might arise on distant worlds as well. Now researchers suggest that by resurrecting ancient enzymes they could estimate the temperatures in which these organisms likely evolved billions of years ago. The scientists recently published their findings in the journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. [...] Their research suggests that Earth’s surface cooled from roughly 167º F (75º C) about 3 billion years ago to roughly 95º (35º F) about 420 million years ago. These findings are consistent with previous geological and enzyme-based results. Garcia said such a dramatic cooling is hard to fathom, emphasizing how scientists need to remember how different conditions were in the past when figuring out how life evolved over time....