OGDEN, Utah – Seen from space, life may appear a mere fluorescence over the surface of the earth: the rich blue of oxygenated oceans, the wash of green across the continents, the amber highlights where air and moisture have rusted minerals. But that thin veneer of beauty also shows the power of life to transform the entire planet. When photosynthesis in cyanobacteria first tapped the power of sunlight to fuel life’s processes, it released oxygen that slowly shifted more than just the hues of sea and land. The oxygen was toxic to the anaerobic life forms that then held sway.…