The ancestor of life on Earth is a single-celled organism called the Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA).
LUCA is not a fossil, but rather a hypothetical organism that scientists believe was the common ancestor of all living things on Earth.
Scientists have pieced together information about LUCA by studying the genetic code of modern organisms. By comparing the DNA of different species, they can identify shared characteristics and trace them back to a common ancestor.
LUCA is thought to have been a simple, single-celled organism with a primitive genetic code. It likely lived in a hot, hydrothermal vent environment and used energy from chemical reactions to survive.
While scientists continue to learn more about LUCA, it remains a fascinating and important concept in our understanding of the origins of life.
