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Biogeochemistry

Metals for microbes in the ancient sea

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Identifying the metal micronutrients required by early life could help to illuminate how primitive organisms arose, but which metals were biologically available in ancient seawater has not been determined. A new experimental framework suggests how the precipitation of iron minerals from seawater reduced the availability of key metals, particularly zinc, copper and vanadium.

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Fig. 1: Iron silicates take up biologically important trace metals in substantial amounts.

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  1. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Jena E. Johnson

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  1. Jena E. Johnson
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Correspondence to Jena E. Johnson.

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Johnson, J.E. Metals for microbes in the ancient sea. Nat. Geosci. 16, 1078–1079 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-023-01314-z

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