LUCA’s waste was also important. Dr. Tim Lenton of the University of Exeter noted, “its waste would have been food for other microbes… that would have helped to create a recycling ecosystem.” This hints at the beginnings of ecological cycling, a process still fundamental to modern ecosystems.
Implications Beyond Earth
“We did not expect LUCA to be so old,” said Dr. Sandra Álvarez-Carretero, “however, our results fit with modern views on the habitability of early Earth.” If life emerged so quickly after Earth formed, it’s possible that similar life could arise just as rapidly on other rocky, habitable planets.
This discovery adds fuel to the growing belief that life may be more common in the universe than once thought.
