Scientists found the last universal common ancestor for all life on Earth

By Joshua Shavit – The Brighter Side of News

Four billion years ago, Earth was violent, hot, and unstable. Yet new research suggests that by then, life had already reached a surprising level of complexity. At that time lived the last universal common ancestor, known as LUCA. This ancient microbe sits at the base of the tree linking all modern bacteria and archaea, and indirectly, you as well.

LUCA was not the first life on Earth. Instead, it was the last shared ancestor of every cellular organism alive today. Many earlier life forms likely existed before it and vanished. Understanding LUCA gives you a rare look at a moment when life had already diversified but had not yet split into the major domains you see today.