From Microbes to Mankind

Researchers from multiple institutions have come together to publish Earth’s most complete family tree to date, illustrating the evolutionary relationships between about 2.3 million named species of lifeforms over the course of roughly 3.5 billion years on the planet.

From insects to animals to microbes to humans, it’s an extraordinary representation of known Earthlings, collected altogether on a single tree diagram.

“This is the first real attempt to connect the dots and put it all together,” Karen Cranston, a principal investigator for the project from Duke University, said in a statement. “Think of it as Version 1.0.”

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