Decades-old question surrounding the start of the tree of life could finally be solved

After decades of debate, scientists believe they have identified the most recent ancestor of the sister to all animals via the novel use of an analytical technique. The finding settles a central question about the evolution of the entire tree of animal life.

In the quest to identify which living animals are most closely related to this sister group, scientists have narrowed down the possibilities to two candidates: sea sponges and comb jellies . Conclusive evidence to support either candidate, however, has remained elusive. The solution came while Darrin T Schultz, lead author and current postdoctoral researcher at the University of Vienna, and a multi-institutional team were sequencing the genomes of comb jellies and their close relatives to understand more about their evolution.Rather than comparing individual genes, the team looked at their positions on chromosomes across species. While changes to DNA occur over the course of evolution, genes tend to remain on the same chromosome.

The team found 14 groups of genes that appeared on separate chromosomes in comb jellies and their single-celled, non-animal relatives. Interestingly, in sponges and all other animals, these genes had rearranged into seven groups.

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Carmelo Anthony announces retirement from NBA after 2 decadesBreaking: Carmelo Anthony announces he is retiring from the NBA. See his statement.
Source: CBSNewYork - 🏆 268. / 63 Read more »

Extreme weather kills 2M, causes $4.3T economic damage in five decades: UNUN agency says a total of 11,778 weather, climate and water-related events were reported from 1970 to 2021 and over 90 percent of reported deaths worldwide occurred in developing countries.
Source: trtworld - 🏆 101. / 63 Read more »

Despite decades of warning, looming natural gas shortage threatens to drive up Alaska energy pricesWaning Cook Inlet natural gas reserves mean Alaskans will likely have to pay more for natural gas — maybe even a lot more — in a state that already has some of the highest energy costs in the country.
Source: AKpublicnews - 🏆 387. / 55 Read more »

Ignite Adaptive Sports, a fixture at Eldora for five decades, is getting new multimillion-dollar homeBill Goldstein was terrified the day he took his first lesson in adaptive skiing at Eldora Mountain Resort. He had moved from New York City to Colorado for skiing, only to lose his left leg soon af…
Source: denverpost - 🏆 13. / 72 Read more »

New Silicon Valley research center is first in decadesSilicon Valley is getting something it hasn't seen in decades. A massive semiconductor construction project.
Source: sfexaminer - 🏆 236. / 63 Read more »

John Nova Lomax, who documented Houston and Texas stories for decades, dies at 53In a go-go town, John Nova Lomax coveted a slower and reflective pace telling Houston...
Source: HoustonChron - 🏆 609. / 51 Read more »