Great Oxidation Event Survival: LUCA to Humans

The universal recipe of life

Chapter 1

The grand ancestor of all cells

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Chapter 2

Powering up the ancient cell

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Chapter 3

The blueprint of multicellular cooperation

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Chapter 4

From ancient fish to human bodies

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YOUR GOAL

Master of The universal recipe of life

Ch 2 · Powering up the ancient cell

darrey Ancient ATP Synthase

We pump the protons (pump it!) / Same ancient motor spins (oh-oh!)

darrey Keeping the cellular trash cans clean

The great oxygen oxidation event survival

darrey Cells had to evolve new genes to survive a sudden rise in toxic oxygen.

The tiny powerhouses living inside our cells

darrey Mitochondria are ancient bacteria that evolved into our cellular power generators.

LUCA's Tiny Spark

BETA

darrey Match essential genes to discover how LUCA's ancient spark still powers our bodies today.

Fun Fact

Maternal DNA: Every single mitochondrion powering your muscles right now descended from a single bacterium swallowed by an ancestral cell billions of years ago.

Glossary

atp synthase (noun)
An enzyme complex that catalyzes the formation of the energy-storing molecule adenosine triphosphate. This highly conserved molecular motor powered the Last Universal Common Ancestor more than three billion years ago.

Gossip

Would you want to live without mitochondria if you could photosynthesize?

Quiz

How many genes are found in the unique DNA inside human mitochondria?

darrey The microscopic merger that changed the world

Quiz

What is the scientific name for the theory that mitochondria evolved from engulfed bacteria?

darrey The tiny powerhouses living inside our cells

Quiz

From which parent do humans inherit all of their mitochondrial DNA?

darrey The great oxygen oxidation event survival

Quiz

Roughly how many billion years ago did the first complex eukaryotic cells appear?

Quiz

What major planetary event about 2.4 billion years ago forced cells to adapt to a new gas?

Quiz

In 2016, Yoshinori Ohsumi won a Nobel Prize for discovering the genetic mechanisms of which process?

Quiz

What is the name of the cellular recycling process regulated by ancient ATG genes?

Quiz

Which highly conserved enzyme protects human cells from toxic oxygen damage?