The transition from water to land is a question that still intrigues scientists. Those ancient organisms would have needed to adapt to several new challenges to life out of water. So, how did they do it?
In a 2025 study, my colleagues and I tried to understand the genetic basis of adapting to life on land by comparing the genetic material of 150 living animals. We discovered that some adaptations to land are universal, while others are found only in a few lineages.
