The universe started expanding some 13.8 billion years ago.

Right there in that first instant, time

began. space zoomed faster than thought to an enormous size. Good thing too, because gravity
was about to squeeze that baby universe back into the Energy it came from. That zoom
happened a whole lot faster than the speed of light, and is called Inflation. Since then the
universe has expanded at more of a pedestrian speed of light. At the incredible temperatures and
energies of that first instant, nothing, not even matter was stable; and as quick as it could form, it
turned back into pure energy.
But as the universe expanded, it cooled, and gradually the basic pieces of normal matter formed
from that incredible energy. Quarks were the first particles to form. Today, quarks only exist in
tightly bound groups, but back then, space was so small, and quarks were squeezed so close
together, that they were not bound to other specific quarks. The 'colors' of these quarks (red, blue
and green) just represent a property that attracts them to one another. There are two types of
quarks in normal matter- physicists call them 'flavors' of quarks. There's the up quark and the
down quark.
As space got bigger, quarks lost their freedom and found themselves locked into groups of three,
inside a proton or a neutron. A proton is make up of two up quarks and one down quark, and a
neutron is made up of one up quark and two down quarks. Just about every proton and every
neutron in existence today was formed at the time of inflation, and was crammed into that
primordial basketball. At this point, every neutron was in a desperate race for its life, for neutrons
can only exist for about twenty minutes on their own. Every neutron either decayed or got
together with a proton to form a kind of hydrogen. Or, two protons got together with two neutrons
to form the nucleus of helium. All of this happened within the very first minute of existence of the
baby universe.
Electrons were the final basic particles to freeze out of the energy 'soup'. But the energy density
was still way too high for electrons to join together with other particles, and the early universe
remained a glowing, cloudy plasma. This condition lasted about 300,000 years while the universe
grew and cooled. Finally, it was cool enough for electrons to be captured by hydrogen and helium
nuclei, and the first atoms were formed. Suddenly, light could race through the universe without
bumping into charged particles, and the universe became transparent and dark, filled mostly with
clouds of hydrogen and helium gas. The light released at that time is still visible today as cosmic
microwave background.
So how did an almost perfectly dark and smooth universe become littered with stars? Inflation
itself caused the first tiny ripples in the density of matter, and over a period of about ten million
years, matter increasingly gathered at these denser locations. After 100 million years, the center
of each cloud evolved into a star as massive as a hundred suns. Across the universe, these first
generation stars lit their furnaces, as their cores became hot and dense enough for nuclear
fusion. The universe emerged from the dark ages.
Because of their huge sizes, these first stars burned with a frenzy, and converted their supplies of
hydrogen and helium fuel into the first heavy elements. Essentially all the atoms in the universe
heavier than helium were born in the hearts of stars. In a short three million years, the fuel was

spent, and these first stars collapsed and exploded into supernovas, spewing their newborn
heavy elements out into the universe. This new composition of heavier elements made it a lot
easier for gravity to squeeze these clouds of matter into new generations of stars.
Our solar system began to develop about 4.6 billion years ago from a large cloud of gas and dust
called the solar nebula. The gravity of the cloud began pulling the cloud's matter inward. As the
cloud contracted, it began spinning faster and faster and it flattened into a disk. As the material
within the cloud compressed, it grew hot. This caused the dust in the cloud to become gaseous.
Most of the cloud's mass was drawn toward the center, eventually forming the Sun. The planets
developed from the remaining materialthe disk of gas spinning around the forming Sunas it
cooled. This explains why the planets orbit the Sun in nearly the same plane and in the same
direction.
Gases in the cooling disk condensed into solid particles, which began colliding with each other
and sticking together. Larger objects began to form. As they traveled around the disk, they swept
up smaller material in their paths, a process known as accretion. The larger gravity of the more
massive objects also allowed them to attract more matter. Over time, much of the matter clumped
together into larger bodies called planetesimals. Ultimately, they formed larger protoplanets,
which developed into the planets.
The inner and outer planets developed so differently because temperatures were much hotter in
the regions near the developing Sun. Close to the center of the solar nebula, the material in the
disk condensed into small particles of rock and metal. These particles eventually clumped
together into the planetesimals that formed the rocky, dense inner planets.
Farther from the developing Sun, the cooler temperatures allowed not only rock and metal to
develop but also gas and the ices of such abundant substances as water, carbon dioxide, and
ammonia. The availability of these ices to the forming outer planets allowed them to become
much larger than the inner planets. Eventually, the outer planets grew massive enough for their
gravity to be able to attract and retain even the lightest elements, hydrogen and helium. These
are the most abundant elements in the universe, so the planets were able to grow enormous.
They also developed compositions fairly similar to that of the Sun. Each young outer planet had
its own relatively cool nebula from which its regular satellites formed. The irregular satellites are
generally thought to be asteroids or other objects that were captured by the planets' strong
gravity.
Ancient craters mark the surface of the far side of Earth's Moon, shown in an image taken by the

F.J. Doyle/National Space Science Data Center

Collisions between the forming planets and large planetesimals probably had dramatic effects.
The numerous impact craters on the oldest surfaces of some inner planets and some moons are
believed to have been created from such collisions. Astronomers think that Earth's Moon
originally may have formed from material scattered by a violent collision of Earth and a
protoplanet about the size of Mars. This material may have settled into orbit around Earth and
accreted to form the Moon. A protoplanet also may have slammed into the developing Mercury

and stripped away much of its outer rocky mantle. This would explain why Mercury's core takes
up such a large percentage of the planet's interior. Other protoplanets may have crashed into
Venus, greatly slowing its rotation, and Uranus, knocking the planet nearly on its side.
As the planets accreted, their interiors grew hot and melted. In a process known as
differentiation, heavier materials sank to the centers, generating more heat in the process and, in
many planets, gradually forming cores. In the inner planets, the sinking of the heavier materials
displaced lighter rocky materials upward, forming mantles of rock. The most buoyant materials
rose to the top and solidified into surface crust. Lighter elements escaped from the interiors and
formed atmospheres and, on Earth, oceans.
In addition to the heat generated by accretion and differentiation, the planets had a third source
of internal heat: the decay of certain radioactive elements in their interiors. Since the planets'
formation, many of their physical characteristics have been determined by the manner in which
the bodies generated and lost their internal heat. For example, the release of internal heat
accounts for the volcanic and tectonic activity that has shaped the crusts of the inner planets. In
smaller bodies such as Mercury, Earth's Moon, and many satellites of the outer planets, the
internal heat escapes to the surface relatively quickly. As a result, the surface initially undergoes
rapid, violent changes. Then, when most of the body's internal heat has dissipated, the surface
features stabilize and remain largely undisturbed as the body ages. Larger bodies such as Earth
and Venus lose their heat more slowly. The outer planets are so large that much of their internal
heat is still being released.
Scientists developed these theories about the formation of the planets based on observations of
the solar system. The discovery of planets outside the solar system has challenged some of the
details. For example, astronomers have discovered enormous gaseous planets that are closer to
their stars than Mercury is to the Sun. This seems to contradict the idea that huge planets can
form only in the regions far from the central star. Perhaps these planets initially developed farther
away from the star, or perhaps the theories about solar system formation need adjusting in
certain ways. The idea that solar systems develop from contracting, spinning clouds of gas and
dust, however, is still believed to be correct. Astronomers have observed such disks surrounding
several young stars (
Earth formed about 4.6 billion years ago, but initially there was no solid surface, no oxygen in the
atmosphere, and no oceans. Earth was a molten orb.
During this time, the earth formed some solid land and liquid water oceans and the organic
molecules that are the building blocks of life began their courtship.
Chemical evolution ruled the planet. Molecules that could stand the environment endured, while
those that could not simply dissolved.
After 600 million years, biology has taken over. Rising above simple molecules that could
chemically duplicate themselves, we now have primitive cells living in the ocean that are the
ancestors of all living things today.
After another half-billion years, or about 3.5 billion years ago, these primitive cells have learned
photosynthesis. This ability to get energy from sunlight is arguably the single most important

biochemical pathway, and nearly all life depends on it.

And after another few eons have passed, this process will generate an oxygen rich atmosphere.
But for now we have arrived at our first real fork in the road,
Archaea. (another 1.6 billion years duration)
It is 3 billion years ago, and the primitive cells have divided into two distinct camps. Archaea and
bacteria look very similar, both are single-celled microorganisms, but their DNA is very different.
Some archaeans are capable of surviving in extreme habitats. They can survive high
temperatures, often above 100C, as found in geysers, black smokers, and oil wells. Some thrive
in saline, acidic or alkaline water.
They are responsible for the brilliantly colored pools at Yellowstone that are scaldingly hot.
And it is in this direction that we proceed.
Now we approach our next crossroad. It is 1.4 billion years ago and we must bid archaea adieu
after traveling with them for 1.6 billion years.
Eukaryotes (800 million years duration)
Life remains single-celled, but a new player is now on the scene. Eukaryotes are cells that have a
nucleus. Today this domain includes animals, plants, fungi, and numerous microorganisms.
The origin a cell nucleus was a milestone in the evolution of life. All complex cells and almost all
multi-cellular organisms have a cell nucleus. Not only that eukaryotes invented SEX!
The next important development in our journey happened after eukaryotes developed flagella.
These eukaryotic flagellates then branched into those that had a single flagellum and those that
had two (or more). The unikonts and the bikonts.
Most animal sperm and fungi spores, propel themselves with a single posterior flagellum so we
can count uniconts as our ancestors.
In contrast, flagellate cells in other eukaryote groups propel themselves with one or more anterior
flagella. They came from bikonts.
Animals come from unikonts and plants come from bikonts. So we must part ways with plants
and protists.
It is interesting that fungi are more closely related to animals than to plants, but now we must
wave goodbye to the fungi as well as they head downtime on their own to become mushrooms,
and yeasts and molds.
First Animals
We have just traveled four billion years, and now the pace of evolution increases so our pace
down the Highway of life must slow down in order to describe it all.
The lines on the Highway which used to represent 10 million years apiece now represent only
One Million years apiece.
Sponges were the first animals that had different kinds of cells doing different tasks. Some of
their cells pumped water and some filtered out tiny bits of food. But they had no real tissues.
Cnidarians -- anemones and their relatives, on the other hand had muscle cells and nerve cells.
This enabled them to bend, stretch, and flex. Jellyfish were probably the first animals to move
using muscles.

And an ancient marine worm was the first animal to move purposefully. It had nerve cells that ran
the length of its body. And a concentration of these cells at one end formed the first primitive
brain. In fact, this was the first animal with a head. And light sensitive cells in that head allowed it
to recognize both the direction and intensity of light. Since it could both see and move, this worm
interacted with the world in a very new way.
Cambrian
The Cambrian began about 540 million years ago and lasted about 50 million years.
During this time the varieties of life exploded. Every group of animals living today can find its
roots in the Cambrian.
It is here that we part ways with the sponges...
...and the Cnidarians and jellyfish
...and Platyhelminthes the flatworms
..Starfish and sea urchins and other echinoderms have just joined us and we must already bid
them good bye
... So long to the roundworms and other Annelids
...hello and good bye to mollusks and ancestors of squid and octopus
...Arthropods have fun giving rise to spiders, crabs, scorpions and insects
The road ahead is our own and at this stage our direct ancestors are the earliest Chordates.
Fish
530 Million years ago, the earliest chordates appeared. They looked more like worms than fish,
but they would give rise to all creatures with a backbone.
The first true vertebrates were jawless fish with cartilage for skeletons. They lacked the paired
fins of fish to come.
480 million years ago, fish finally developed jaws and teeth. So long to lampreys.
And 450 million years ago, the first bones. So we part ways with the sharks and rays.
The lungfish will carry us forward toward our next big step...Tetrapods.
TetraPods
365 million years ago, fish living in shallow waters traded fins for legs, had simple lungs as well
as gills, and became the first tetrapods.
And by this time plants and centipedes and spiders and insects had been on land for 30 million
years. The earth was green and the sky was blue with an oxygen- rich atmosphere.
340 million years ago, the first true amphibians began to harvest this resource by coming onto
land to feed. But they had to keep their skins moist and had to return to water to breed.
Reptiles
the earliest known reptile was about 8 inches long and looked a lot like modern lizards. Because
reptiles had tough, waterproof skins, their territory wasnt restricted to the damp domains of the
amphibians.
And by pioneering waterproof eggs, they could even breed without returning to the water.
Amniotic eggs have been around for 300 million years.
The earliest mammal-like reptiles, called pelycosaurs ruled the earth for about 40 million years,

and gave rise to the therapsids...one step closer to mammals.

Therapsids are the direct ancestor of mammals.
But before we say good bye to reptiles, lets pause and look down their temporal highway.
Their descendants include the crocodilians, the dinosaurs and the birds. Back to our own road,
Mammals are directly ahead.
Mammals
It is now 220 million years ago and the cynodonts have arrived on the scene. They have nearly all
the features of mammals.
Most early mammals were small and shrew-like animals that fed on insects. It is likely that they
had a constant body temperature, milk glands for their young, and the beginning of a neocortex
region of the brain.
But this is also the era of the first dinosaurs, so our ancestors will have to wait for their turn to
rule.
125 million years ago, two new developments paralleled each other, marsupials and eutheria.
The marsupials would give rise to kangaroos and their cousins, but our line lies with eutheria
which have a placenta.
The earliest eutheria resembled a small mouse.
90 million years ago, we part lines with the ancestors of elephants and manatees.
85 million years ago, so long to the predecessors of horses, dogs and cats 75 million years ago,
we part ways with mice and rodents.
Primates are directly ahead.
Primates
It is 65 million years ago and the dinosaurs just died. And a small animal that looked like a cross
between a squirrel and a monkey becomes the ancestor of all primates.
After a few million years, Old World Monkeys are clearly recognizable and, they have had a good
run ever since.
25 million years ago the first of the lesser apes appeared.
15 million years ago orangutans appear and the gibbons split off 13 million years ago our
ancestors split from the orangutans
10 million years ago we split from the gorillas
7 or 8 million years ago we split from the chimps and bonobos
The earliest known human ancestor post-dating the separation of the human and the
chimpanzee lines is in our sights.
First we have Toumai. It is the oldest known hominin (Sahelanthropus tchadensis) and dates to
between 6 and 7million years ago.
Orrorin dates almost to 6 million years ago and was probably bipedal.
Ardepithecus lived from 5.8 to 4.4 million years ago.
Then Kenyanthropus from 3.5 million years ago.
Then Lucy, an Australopithecus Afarensis from 3.2 million years ago.
Australopithecus Africanus. He is from 2.5 million years ago.

Homo Habilis from 1.9 million years ago was found with tools.
Homo Ergaster dates to 1.6 million years ago.
Homo Erectus lived from 1.8 million years ago until 140,000 years ago.
Homo Sapiens includes ourselves as well as several, perhaps many other sub- species.
our close cousin Neanderthal lived from 230,000 years ago to just 30,000 years ago. They buried
their dead as long ago as 100,000 years. Mitochondrial Eve is the woman who is the mother of
all mankind; the common ancestor from whom we all descend. She lived a hundred and fifty
thousand years ago in East Africa and everyone on earth is related to her.
Humans evolved in Africa from a small population of H. heidelbergensis. Then we migrated out of
Africa where we encountered: Neanderthals, and H. erectus. These two species went extinct and
we lived. Anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens) appear in the fossil record about
~200,000 years ago.
Humans and Neanderthals are sisters and we come from the same mom (H. heidelbergensis).
Neanderthals were "born" first in one place (Europe) and we were "born" second (in Africa). Our
mom continued to live even after we were born. Our mom "died" first then our older sister "died"
next, but not too long ago.
To take this further our mom had a mom herself, our grandmother (H. erectus). Our grandmother
had other children besides our mom (our aunts - like H. floresiensis). H. floresiensis did not
directly contribute to us being here but they are still part of our "family tree". Our aunt died before
she had children