FOOL’S gold could be the key to finding ancient life on Earth, or even on Mars if it ever existed there.
Most researchers hunt for fossilised bacteria in a kind of sedimentary rock called chert. These rocks are hard enough to last a long time, and thin slices can be transparent, making it easy to see what’s inside. But both chert and the fossils within it are relatively rare.
Back in 1965, scientists noticed that microbial fossils can also be preserved in pyrite, or fool’s gold. Flakes of pyrite are found in almost all marine rock. But back in the…
