Scientists discover the ancestor cell of all living beings on Earth: What is this ancient species? Find out here
Scientists discover the ancestor cell of all living beings on Earth: What is this ancient species? Find out here © Moneycontrol I n a discovery that deepens our understanding of life's origins, researchers have pinpointed the existence of our last universal common ancestor (LUCA) to about 4.2 billion years ago, just a few hundred million years after Earth first formed. This discovery shows that LUCA lived further back in time than we thought. It reveals that life on Earth started in a surprisingly complex and active environment, full of other life forms and viruses. LUCA, as biologists have affectionately named it, was not so different from the more complex bacteria that exist today. What’s particularly fascinating is the early development of an immune system in LUCA, indicating that even at this early stage, our ancient ancestor was locked in a strugg...