Scientists broadly agree that Earth’s early atmosphere and oceans were all but devoid of oxygen gas. But there are signs that there was some oxygen around. The first organisms to breathe oxygen or at least use it appeared 3.1 billion years ago, according to a new genetic analysis of dozens of families of microbes. The emergence of oxygen proteins marks a key step in the emergence of aerobic microbes, which are those able to harness oxygen. Do you think about this scientific research ?