Diamonds can act as time capsules: They trap nearby
minerals during the formation process and, with their strength and stability, preserve material that scientists call inclusions.
In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers from the University of Tübingen, Dr. Aude Picard (now at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA), Dr. Martin Obst, Professor Andreas Kappler, and Gregor Schmid, in collaboration with Dr. Luca Quaroni from the Paul Scherrer Institute in Villigen, Switzerland, show that microbial structures that are embedded in iron
minerals are preserved under pressure and temperature conditions that occur
during rock
formation.