Evolution and the Origin of Life

Observe this family tree:

• Imagine from the point of view of the boy labelled ‘Me’
• He is similar to his brother . They share common characteristics.
• This is because they have a recent common ancestor, their parents .
• But the similarities between the boy and his cousins are even less .
• This is because they do not have recent common ancestors .
• But they will still share some common characteristics as their grandparents are common ancestors .

• Similarly for all organisms, we can trace backwards and find similarities and differences.  
• If we trace backward we can even reach a single species that gave rise to all species we know today.
• Different theories of the origin of life are discussed by scientists.