Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story: The first eukaryotes—the cells that form complex life—likely originated when two microscopic entities merged via a process called endosymbiosis, ...

For decades, scientists have searched for clues to how life first emerged on Earth. Many theories focus on simple molecules reacting in water or on fragile protocells drifting in ancient seas. A new ...

Scientists have discovered that complex life began evolving much earlier than traditional models suggested. Using an expanded molecular clock approach, the team showed that crucial cellular features ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Researchers uncover gene clues that reveal how life evolved before Earth’s first universal ancestor. (CREDIT: Wikimedia / CC BY-SA ...

A new study suggests that ancient microbes once cast as oxygen haters may have actually learned to use the gas, offering a clue to how the first complex cells — and, eventually, all plants and animals ...

In the oceans and on land, scientists are discovering rare, transitional organisms that bridge the gap between Earth’s simplest cells and today’s complex ones. By Carl Zimmer A flurry of new studies ...

Living organisms share an ancestor called the last universal common ancestor, or LUCA. LUCA is estimated to have lived approximately four billion years ago. All plants, animals, and microbes can trace ...