The early evolution of cellular life

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Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Conducting Miller-Urey Experiments
11:10

Conducting Miller-Urey Experiments

Published on: January 21, 2014

J P Gogarten1

  • 1Dept of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut, 75 North Eagleville Rd, Storrs, CT 06269-3044, USA.

Trends in Ecology & Evolution
|January 18, 2011
PubMed

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Around 4 billion years ago, oceans began to condense on earth while volcanic eruptions released nitrogen, carbon dioxide, methane, ammonia, and hydrogen into the primordial atmosphere. However, organisms with the characteristics of life were not initially present on earth. Scientists have used experimentation to determine how organisms evolved that could grow, reproduce, and maintain an internal environment.
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The “tree of life” describes the evolution of life and the evolutionary relationships between organisms. The root of the tree is the common ancestor to all life on Earth. All other species radiate from this point, much like the branches of a tree. The numerous tips of these branches on the tree of life represent every living, or extant, species. Extinct species, which are species that no longer exist, can be found towards the center of the tree. Currently, these organisms, both extant and...