Bacteria 250 Million Years Old?
Scientists recently claimed to have found live bacteria 250 million years old inside rock salt deposits, according to multiple media reports in October of 2000.
The claimed ancient bacteria was found inside a cavity or inclusion inside a salt crystal of Permian age, or the period of the evolutionist geologic time scale from about 300 million years ago to 250 million years ago.
Inside the inclusion or cavity was a salt-saturated liquid containing the "ancient" live bacteria, 1,850 feet underground in New Mexico.
Evolutionists use their dating methods, which are considered faulty by creationists, to determine ages of rock layers and rock crystals.
Anything found within a particular rock or mineral sample would be considered the same age, therefore prompting evolutionists to date the bacteria at 250 million years old.
However, creationists and even many non-creationists dispute this age and do not believe that a live bacteria could survive for such a period of time without decomposing.
Other scientists believe that the salt crystal could have been contaminated with the bacteria and therefore disproving the proposed age of the bacteria.
However, researchers have confirmed that no evidence of contamination has been observed inside inside the salt crystal inclusions housing the "ancient bacteria."
In addition, researchers have also confirmed that the DNA inside these "ancient" bacteria has not decomposed but is still functioning normally.
Before this discovery, the oldest claimed bacteria discovery was of spores inside the belly of a bee in amber, which dated by evolutionists between 25 to 40 million years ago.
However, evolutionists can't explain how bacteria and other microscopic life could survive for such long ages and refuse to reconsider their dating techniques that assign ages in the millions of years.
In addition, creationists point out that the ancient bacteria would need an energy source to survive for such a long period of time, and the location more than 1,850 feet underground would not provide a proper energy source to sustain this life.
If the average lifespan of bacteria is about 12 hours, therefore, how could bacteria live for millions of years?
Creationists assert that the finding of live (not fossilized) bacteria inside this particular salt crystal give strong evidence of its youth within the creationist time frame of 6,000 years and not the ridiculous ages that evolutionists propose.
(1) Vreeland, R. H., W. D. Rosenzweig and D. W. Powers. 2000. Isolation of a 250 million-year-old halotolerant bacterium from a primary salt crystal. Nature. 407 (6806): 897-900.
The claimed ancient bacteria was found inside a cavity or inclusion inside a salt crystal of Permian age, or the period of the evolutionist geologic time scale from about 300 million years ago to 250 million years ago.
Inside the inclusion or cavity was a salt-saturated liquid containing the "ancient" live bacteria, 1,850 feet underground in New Mexico.
Evolutionists use their dating methods, which are considered faulty by creationists, to determine ages of rock layers and rock crystals.
Anything found within a particular rock or mineral sample would be considered the same age, therefore prompting evolutionists to date the bacteria at 250 million years old.
However, creationists and even many non-creationists dispute this age and do not believe that a live bacteria could survive for such a period of time without decomposing.
Other scientists believe that the salt crystal could have been contaminated with the bacteria and therefore disproving the proposed age of the bacteria.
However, researchers have confirmed that no evidence of contamination has been observed inside inside the salt crystal inclusions housing the "ancient bacteria."
In addition, researchers have also confirmed that the DNA inside these "ancient" bacteria has not decomposed but is still functioning normally.
Before this discovery, the oldest claimed bacteria discovery was of spores inside the belly of a bee in amber, which dated by evolutionists between 25 to 40 million years ago.
However, evolutionists can't explain how bacteria and other microscopic life could survive for such long ages and refuse to reconsider their dating techniques that assign ages in the millions of years.
In addition, creationists point out that the ancient bacteria would need an energy source to survive for such a long period of time, and the location more than 1,850 feet underground would not provide a proper energy source to sustain this life.
If the average lifespan of bacteria is about 12 hours, therefore, how could bacteria live for millions of years?
Creationists assert that the finding of live (not fossilized) bacteria inside this particular salt crystal give strong evidence of its youth within the creationist time frame of 6,000 years and not the ridiculous ages that evolutionists propose.
(1) Vreeland, R. H., W. D. Rosenzweig and D. W. Powers. 2000. Isolation of a 250 million-year-old halotolerant bacterium from a primary salt crystal. Nature. 407 (6806): 897-900.
