Sea sponge could be the first animal on Earth
New genetic analyses led by MIT researchers confirm that sea sponges are the source of a curious molecule found in rocks that are 640 million years old. These rocks significantly predate the Cambrian explosion the period in which most animal groups took over the planet, 540 million years ago suggesting that sea sponges may have been the first animals to inhabit the Earth. (Learn more: Video: Melanie Gonick, MIT Protein simulation, additional imagery: David Gold Media provided by
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