We

You might be surprised to learn how closely we are related.

Figure 1. The traditional stepped view of the tree of life.

Historically, the development of life has always been portrayed in distinct, stepped stages. Life starts at the Root (Figure 1) and through time, evolution irons out the kinks, ultimately making us (A, B, C, D and E), the most complex forms of life on the planet. But this leaves an important question, where did the Root come from?

Life is thought to have started from simple inorganic molecules (See big image below) and evolved into increasing complexity. Initially, smaller particles simply bumped into each other to make larger more complex molecules. As more complex molecule developed at some point they gained the ability to replicate themselves these are called the first replicants.

These self-replicating units were the first entity on earth which could replicate itself using a type of source code called DNA. However, even though the replication mechanisms were near perfect, every billion replications an error occurred, which in turn, made a new form of replicant. This process then repeated a zillion times over billion years until...us.

This process is called abiogenesis. Whilst the traditional stepped classification (see Figure 1) is useful to scientists, as it makes digestible chunks to interpret, in the real world the process is much more fluid more like the roots of a tree branching out (see Figure 2). The key takeaway is that although many branches are produced it is still the same superorganism, as shown below.

Figure 2. The superorganism.

We are all more closely related than you think, as all life, in short, is DNA travelling through time!

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Further reading

• The Selfish Gene - Dawkins, Richard, 1941. Oxford ; New York :Oxford University Press, 1989. ISBN: 978-0198788607

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References