Spiral of Life VI: The Story of Life

Summary

“From so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.” – Charles Darwin

The Spiral of Live VI mural tells the story of life through a comprehensive overview of its evolution. It illustrates the evolution of the three domains — Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya — and kingdoms.

The Spiral of Life is a time-scaled modern phylogenetic tree. It uses a radial branching out of species from the last universal common ancestor in order to emphasize that evolution is not exclusively linear or vertical. It also considers the role that lateral gene transfer plays in the evolution of life.