Many #scientists believe that we can trace our #ancestry 3.7 billion years back to a single-celled #microbe we call #LUCA (Last Universal Common Ancestor).⠀ ⠀ In a 2016 study, scientists at Heinrich Heine University in #Dusseldorf, Germany, examined 6.1 million protein-coding #genes found in simple, single-celled creatures today. Following the #phylogenetic trees for each gene, they identified 355 genes that were probably present in LUCA, essentially creating a #genetic profile of this mysterious #primordial #species.⠀ ⠀ What we learned is that LUCA was likely #anaerobic (living without oxygen) and #autotrophic (self-nourishing), and lived deep #underground in iron-sulfur rich #hydrothermal vents, turning the spewed #hydrogen and #carbon-dioxide into #energy.⠀ ⠀ LUCA ultimately #evolved into #archaea and #bacteria, and gave rise to #eukaryotes and everything else that followed.⠀ ⠀ ______________⠀ ⠀ Source | Pacific Ring of Fire 2004 Expedition. NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration; Dr. Bob...