Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story: Before Neanderthals and Denisovans, before Homo erectus, before Lucy and other australopiths, who was the ancestor that gave rise to human evolution?

Every organism alive on Earth, from oak trees to octopuses to the bacteria in our gut, belongs to a single extended family. Genetic evidence points back to one ancestral cell, a last common forebear ...

Imagine the tree of life. The tip of every branch represents one species, whether you're talking about humans, E. coli, tardigrades, baker's yeast or giant kelp. If you follow any two branches back ...