Short Wave
All Of Life Has A Common Ancestor. What Was LUCA?
Jan 17, 2025
Jonathan Lambert, NPR science correspondent and expert on the origins of life, dives into the fascinating world of LUCA, our last universal common ancestor. He discusses what this ancient single-celled organism might have looked like and its surprising complexity. Lambert reveals how recent studies suggest LUCA could be older than previously believed, challenging our understanding of early life. He also touches on the implications of LUCA's traits for the search for extraterrestrial life and the intriguing complications that arise from gene transfer.
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Quick takeaways
- LUCA, the last universal common ancestor, was likely a complex single-celled organism with traits shared across all living beings today.
- Recent studies suggest LUCA lived around 4.2 billion years ago amidst extreme environmental challenges, impacting theories about the emergence of life on Earth.
Deep dives
Understanding LUCA: The Last Universal Common Ancestor
LUCA, or the last universal common ancestor, represents the single-celled organism from which all life on Earth descends. Researchers use the concept of a tree of life to illustrate how different species share ancestors, tracing back through time to a common point. This understanding allows scientists to explore the origins of life and answers fundamental questions about how life evolved. The existence of LUCA is inferred from the shared genetic machinery present in all living beings today, indicating that we all inherited traits from this ancient ancestor.
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