Scientists Have Found The First Branch On The Tree Of Life

All creatures, from whales to worms, share a common ancestor from 600 to 800 million years ago. Since the early 1900s, scientists have sought to identify which modern animals diverged first from this origin. Put simply, they wanted to find the original divide within life as we know it. A 2025 report shows solid results as scientists study gene arrangements on chromosomes across species. This method reveals deeper family ties than older DNA sequence-based techniques. The gaps between ancient species show up clearly here. Eight things stand out about this finding - each one shaping how we see it, why it counts.