Complex life on Earth began billion years earlier than previously thought, study argues

Fossils from China are said to prove that multi-cellular organisms evolved as early as 1.5bn years ago - but some experts dismiss findings

A claim by researchers that complex life on Earth may have evolved a billion years earlier than previously thought has immediately divided scientists in the field, with some hailing the evidence as rock-solid and others unconvinced.

The researchers, writing in the journal Nature Communications, said they had uncovered fossils showing that complex life on Earth began more than 1.5bn years ago.