--- title: "Scientists Say Textbooks Are Wrong About How Life Exploded on Earth" description: "According to a May study, ancient rock samples show that the widely-accepted theory explaining Earth's Avalon explosion might be all wrong." date: "2023-07-27" modified: "2023-07-28" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/textbooks-wrong-origin-life" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "earth" - "life on Earth" - "origin of life" - "the digest" --- # Scientists Say Textbooks Are Wrong About How Life Exploded on Earth ![According to a May study, ancient rock samples show that the widely-accepted theory explaining Earth's Avalon explosion might be all wrong.]() *Animals and floral life from the Cambrian period about 500 million years ago from the Burgess Shale formation in Canada. Visible are Anomalocaris, Opabinia, trilobites, stromatolites, and anemones. \Image: Getty Image\* ## Reprint Eastwood Turns out we might be very wrong about how life arose on Earth. For decades now, the [prevailing scientific theory]() explaining the Precambrian [Avalon explosion]() — in short, the era dating back to about 685 to 800 million years ago in which multicellular organisms began to proliferate in Earth's oceans — has, put simply, been that an influx of oxygen into Earth's oceans accelerated the evolution of more complex life, ultimately paving the way for our planet's biosphere as we know it. But as an international team of scientists suggests in a [recently-published study](), ancient rock samples show that this widely-accepted theory likely isn't true — meaning that we might just need to rewrite students' science textbooks. "The fact that we now know, with a high degree of certainty, that oxygen didn't control the development of life on Earth provides us with an entirely new story about how life arose and what factors controlled this success," said Christian Bjerrum, an associate professor of geosciences and natural resource management at the University of Copenhagen and a co-author of the study published in the journal *GeoBiology*, in a [statement](). "Specifically," he added, "it means that we need to rethink a lot of the things that we believed to be true from our childhood learning. And textbooks need to be revised and rewritten." ## Less Is More Per the study, the scientists meticulously mapped the geochemical makeup of ancient rock samples from the Omani mountain range in the Arabian peninsula. By examining the compositions of the samples, they determined that there likely wasn't any major flood of oxygenation after all — and actually, there was probably *less* oxygen in Earth's oceans at the time of the explosion than in years prior. "Our measurements provide a good picture of what average oxygen concentrations were in the world's oceans at the time," said Bjerrum. "And it's apparent to us that there was no major increase in the amount of oxygen when more advanced fauna began to evolve and dominate Earth." "In fact," he added, "there was somewhat of a slight decrease." That said, the researchers still think that oxygen levels still played a central role in the proliferation of ancient multicellular species — and interestingly enough, they say that the *decrease* in oceanic oxygen may have ultimately been the culprit. "It's interesting that the explosion of multicellular organisms occurs at a time with low concentrations of atmospheric and oceanic oxygen," said Bjerrum. "That indicates that organisms benefited from lower levels of oxygen and were able to develop in peace, as the water chemistry protected their stem cells naturally." **More on Earth:** [*Gigantic Mountains Inside Earth Mystify Scientists*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()