Apparently algae created the world as we know it

[Jubal]

A planetary takeover by ocean-dwelling algae 650 million years ago was the kick that transformed life on Earth.

That's what geochemists argue in Nature this week, on the basis of invisibly small traces of biomolecules dug up from beneath the Australian desert.

The molecules mark an explosion in the quantity of algae in the oceans. This in turn fuelled a change in the food web that allowed the first microscopic animals to evolve, the authors suggest.

"This is one the most profound ecological and evolutionary transitions in Earth's history," lead researcher Jochen Brocks told the BBC's Science in Action programme.

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-40948972