By establishing the biggest paleobiology database of early Earth to date and employing cutting-edge analytical tools, including supercomputer and artificial intelligence, an international paleontological research team led by Dr Qing Tang and Professor Shuzhong Shen from the School of Earth Sciences and Engineering at Nanjing University, for the first time, have constructed a high-resolution biodiversity curve spanning from 2 billion to 500 million years ago.

The findings were published in the academic Science journal on Friday. This study reveals that early life on Earth underwent a prolonged evolutionary journey, marked by multiple major radiations and mass extinctions before the formation of complex ecosystems around 500 million years ago.

"This study fills a critical gap in our understanding of the macroevolution of life on early Earth, providing a theoretical basis for elucidating the origins and early evolution of life, exploring the potential existence of extraterrestrial life, and assessing the sustainable development of a habitable Earth," Tang told the Global Times.

Fossils are the most direct evidence of life's evolution. However, when did life, particularly eukaryotes with a membrane-enveloped nucleus, originate and leave its first fossil record more than 500 million years ago? As the ancestors of all modern complex organisms, how did early life cope with environmental challenges and evolve into the diverse biosphere we see today?

These fundamental scientific questions, which are crucial for understanding our origins and future, have remained largely unaddressed for a long time due to methodological limitations, said Tang.

To tackle these questions, the research team spent six years developing a comprehensive paleobiology database of early Earth. By integrating big data analytical tools, such as supercomputing and artificial intelligence, Tang and his colleagues have established the first high-resolution biodiversity curve of early life.

The results indicate that the diversity of eukaryotes maintained low but stable growth since their earliest unambiguous fossil records around 1.7 billion years ago. However, this pattern was disrupted by the emergence of a global glaciation event around 720 million years ago.

Following the end of the glaciation event, life diversity began to increase rapidly and fluctuate frequently, leading to multiple episodes of major biological radiation and extinction.

These include a significant biological radiation event between approximately 635 and 580 million years ago, followed by the first mass extinction event in life history, which resulted in the sharp disappearance of the dominant organism - spiny microorganisms. Following this mass extinction, more complex macroscopic organisms, including animals, underwent rapid radiation. However, these complex macroscopic organisms encountered two significant declines in diversity at the end of the Ediacaran Period (approximately 551 to 539 million years ago), marking the earliest two mass extinction events in the evolutionary history of animals.

This study, by using big data analysis, quantitatively illustrate for the first time the first 1.5-billion-year evolutionary journey of fossilizable eukaryotes on Earth. It delineates the early history of complex life, including its origins, radiation, extinction, re-radiation, and the eventual formation of modern-like ecosystems.

"The findings suggest that extreme climate events, such as global glaciations, severely disrupted the evolutionary trajectory of Earth's early biosphere, leading to mass extinction events," Shen told the Global Times.

Following the end of glaciation events, the subsequent warming of surface temperatures and rise in atmospheric oxygen levels facilitated new radiations of increasingly complex organisms.

"This further confirms that the evolutionary pattern of life from simple to complex is not a straightforward linear process, but rather an alternating pattern of prolonged stagnation and relatively rapid radiation," Shen noted.

This study also highlights the profound impact of abrupt environmental changes, such as fluctuations in surface temperature and oxygen levels, on the evolution of early complex life systems, providing valuable insights for scientists searching for extraterrestrial life in extreme environments and assessing the future habitability of Earth.

"We study the relationship between biodiversity and the process of environmental evolution to better understand Earth's current state. This research helps predict how the planet might develop under environmental changes, offering valuable insights for the future," Shen remarked.

According to Shen, the development of life on Earth, from its origin to the growth of biodiversity, from simple to complex organisms, "provides valuable insights for studying whether other planets have similar conditions."

"Understanding the environmental factors that allowed early life on Earth to thrive and evolve into the biodiversity we see today can offer important clues for exploring the potential existence of life and biodiversity on other planets," he added.

Reviewers for Science journal commented: "This is, in many respects, a long overdue paper to examine the fossil record of the Proterozoic. This is a huge achievement. There will be a plethora of papers following publication of this paper doing just that."

Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi met with Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djurić in Tianjin on Friday. Wang said China welcomes Serbia to get on board the express train of China's development and work together to achieve modernization for both nations.

Wang Yi asked Djurić to convey President Xi Jinping's warm greetings to Serbian President Aleksandar Vućić. Wang Yi stated that this year is a significant one for China-Serbia relations. President Xi successfully conducted a state visit to Serbia in May, during which the two heads of state decided to build a China-Serbia community with a shared future in the new era, opening a new chapter in bilateral relations. 

The traditional friendship between China and Serbia has been forged in the common opposition to power and bullying, tempered in the struggle to defend independence and sovereignty, and nurtured through mutually beneficial cooperation and common development. It has withstood the tests of changing international circumstances and will undoubtedly grow stronger over time, making the two countries true ironclad friends, the Chinese official said. 

China-Serbia relations are at the forefront of the times and align with the correct historical direction. We are willing to work together with Serbia to continuously create new prospects for our bilateral relationship, Wang Yi emphasized. 

China's economy continues to maintain high-quality development, remaining at the forefront among major economies. China is continuously improving its high-level opening-up, which not only provides momentum for its own development but also offers new cooperation opportunities for countries around the world, including Serbia, Wang Yi said.

"We welcome Serbia to get on board the express train of China's development and work together to achieve modernization for both nations," Wang Yi noted.

During the meeting, Djurić said the relationship with China is a diplomatic pillar for Serbia, and deepening cooperation with China has become a cross-party and whole-society consensus in Serbia.

Serbia supports the promotion of cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries, and looks forward to close communication and coordination with the Chinese side to jointly address global challenges, the Serbian Foreign Minister said. 

Both sides also exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis and the situation in the Middle East.

The relevant trials of the Fujian aircraft carrier are a normal part of the construction process. In the next steps, additional trials will be gradually conducted based on the progress of the aircraft carrier's construction, Wu Qian, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense said on Friday 

Wu made the remarks in response to an inquiry on a notice from the Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration, which said traffic control will be implemented on the deep-water channel entrance of the Yangtze River estuary for a large vessel in early December with some analysts believing that the Chinese Navy's Fujian aircraft carrier may have completed its fifth sea trial and returned to its homeport.

China and the US on Friday signed a protocol to amend and extend the Agreement Between the United States and China on Cooperation in Science and Technology. They have agreed to extend the Agreement for additional five years, effective from August 27, 2024, according to China's Ministry of Science and Technology, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

On January 31, 1979, then Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping and the 39th US president Jimmy Carter signed the agreement during Deng's visit to the US. It was one of the first intergovernmental agreements signed between the two countries following their establishment of diplomatic relations.

Since then, it has renewed approximately every five years, paving the way for sci-tech exchanges between the two countries. The agreement was extended for 6 months in August last year, and again in February this year.

"The renewal of the agreement sends a positive signal and holds profound significance for China-US technological cooperation and global technological advancement," Wang Peng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Friday.

Wang said that this renewal signifies both parties' commitment to maintaining and deepening exchanges and collaboration in the technology sector. Since its inception in 1979, the agreement has served as a cornerstone for cooperation between the two nations, facilitating extensive collaboration across various fields.

Wang noted that the renewal will create more opportunities and platforms for cooperation, promote technological innovation, and foster talent cultivation, ultimately advancing the joint development of the technological sectors in both countries.

On a global scale, this collaboration will facilitate the sharing of technological resources and inject new momentum into global technological progress, Wang added.

Li Yong, a senior research fellow at the China Association of International Trade, told the Global Times on Friday that this agreement has created substantial opportunities for technological exchanges between the two countries. It not only aligns with the mutual interests of both parties but also meets the expectations of the international community.

Potential for China-US technological cooperation can be seen in multiple fields, especially in fundamental science, advanced technology research and development, and innovative applications, Li said.

China has advantages in market scale and consumer demand, while the US leads in technological innovation and research. If the two countries can engage in deep cooperation in these areas, it will drive global technological advancement and benefit all of humanity, Li said.

The extension of the agreement comes at a time when the US has intensified its technology suppression against China, particularly concerning semiconductor exports.

"Science knows no borders. Politicizing technology can only transform what should be a collaborative effort for human progress into a tool for political struggle, ultimately harming all parties involved," Li said.

Responding to the extension over the agreement, a Chinese scientist in the computer science sector told the Global Times on Friday that China-US technological cooperation is mutually beneficial when it is cooperative, but harmful to both sides when it is confrontational.

The Chinese government will continue to deepen international scientific and technological cooperation between governments and civil society, as well as expand cultural and technological exchanges, Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Yin Hejun said in September.

China has established scientific and technological cooperation ties with over 160 countries and regions, and signed 118 intergovernmental agreements on such cooperation, according to Yin.