Life on Earth started 'more than once'

Scientists have called for a "mission to Earth" to hunt for evidence of a second genesis that gave rise to life, but not as we know it.The variety of life on Earth is widely considered to have evolved from a single common ancestor, but it is possible that basic organisms emerged more than once, leading to multiple trees of life.Paul Davies at Arizona State University told the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Chicago that scientists should explore unusual environmental nooks and crannies on the planet and look for micro-organisms that thrive there. Any that live outside the boundaries of "normal" life could have evolved independently, he said."We must be open to the possibility that there's more than one tree of life," Davies said. "I'm not talking about mysterious shadow beings that we can't see, but the microbial realm could contain denizens of second or subsequent genesis."Microbes...

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