The theory of evolution shows that all life stems from a single root and that we are related, more or less distantly, to every other living thing on Earth. Our closest ancestors, as Charles Darwin recognized, are to be found among the great apes. But beyond this, confusion over the branching pattern of the tree of life means that things become less clear. We know that life evolved from a common universal ancestor that gave rise to bacteria, archaea (other types of single-celled microorganisms), and eukaryotes (including multi-cellular creatures such as plants and animals). But what did the first animals…

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