The Development of Life on Earth

Abstract

Many dream that life is not something unique to our Earth, that mankind is not sentenced to loneliness in the universe, that there are, in an unknown place somewhere, thinking and feeling beings with whom we can communicate and share knowledge and experiences. But so far, our own planet is the only place where we know for sure that life exists. Life on Earth expresses itself in many forms and can be found in the most unexpected places. It seems there is an almost overwhelming force that drives life to develop in many directions at the same time, filling all the available niches. The number of different species is enormous. A modern estimation shows that the Earth contains close to ten million species, in addition to many more primitive life forms. Of these, only two million are known, although thousands of new species are discovered every year.