Surprising Science — May 13, 2010

One Common Ancestor

New statistical analysis finds that all life on Earth shares a single common ancestor, confirming a “central pillar of evolutionary theory.”

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New statistical analysis finds that all life on Earth shares a single common ancestor, confirming a “central pillar of evolutionary theory.” Researchers did rigorous statistical tests on various evolutionary ancestry models, and determined that a universal common ancestor is at least 102,860 times more probable than having multiple ancestors.

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

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