It is a mineral used to make types of plaster which coat our homes, schools and offices - and in Cumbria sits the world's deepest gypsum mine. Outside the small village of Long Marton, against the ...

Around six million years ago, the Mediterranean Sea almost entirely evaporated, leaving behind minerals, such as gypsum, that hardened and trapped ancient bacteria as fossils within their layers.

Researchers believe that these minerals, formed rapidly, could have trapped microorganisms before their decomposition, thus preserving clues of ancient life. This hypothesis strengthens the scientific ...