Short Wave All Of Life Has A Common Ancestor. What Was LUCA?
39 snips
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.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Understanding LUCA
- LUCA is the last universal common ancestor, a single point on the tree of life.
- All living and extinct organisms converge on LUCA when tracing their ancestry.
Evidence for LUCA
- Evidence for LUCA exists in shared biological machinery, like genetic code and amino acids.
- LUCA isn't the origin of life, but the furthest point traceable via current life.
Studying LUCA
- Scientists study LUCA by examining shared genes across organisms.
- Horizontal gene transfer and gene loss complicate this process.