Scientists have announced that they have discovered an organism that lived 4.2 billion years ago.
It is believed that this creature is the progenitor of all life on Earth.
Biology experts have named the creature in question LUCA, the scientific journal Nature reports.
According to the researchers, LUCA is a universal ancestor that gave life not only to mammals, but also to marine organisms and even bacteria.
Amazing discovery
It is emphasized that the above-mentioned organism has a complex genetic structure, which determines its universality for all species living on Earth.
At the same time, scientists point out that the size of LUCA is microscopic. Nevertheless, it contains 2600 genes.
Experts believe that the ancestor of life on Earth existed 4.2 billion years ago. At that time, according to geologists' reports, our planet experienced a meteor shower.
The fact that life arose in such harsh circumstances is a demonstration of its amazing ability to adapt, biologists say.
Author: Margarita Sadkovskaya
