Massive Organism Spawned All Life On Earth Says New Theory

If a new scientific theory is correct all life on Earth shares a common organism that once dominated the Earth’s oceans. Dubbed LUCA the study posits that the organism was a massive network of cells, all of which relied on one another to survive during the early years of Earth’s harsh formation.

According to the New Scientist it’s believed that cells were unable to make the exact proteins they required and instead swapped them out which in turn created a huge gene pool that eventually spawned all life on earth.

2.9 billion years ago as oxygen first appeared in the atmosphere the cells split off into single-celled bacteria, archaea and complex cells called eukaryotes, the building blocks for all animals and plants on earth.

While not all scientists are taking the theory seriously one MIT scientist notes:

“It’s a plausible idea” be he “can’t tell if it’s true.”

Given our close genetic relationship to other organisms it seems like a plausible possibility. Do you think all living things on Earth may have come from one giant “super-organism.”

[Image via ShutterStock.com]