Researchers from the University of Oslo have discovered a protozoan species that may belong to a new branch of the tree of life, says Popular Science's Rebecca Boyle. The researchers, who describe their findings in Molecular Biology and Evolution, say they found the microorganism — called Collodictyon — in lake sludge in Norway, and that it may be related to some of the planet's earliest life forms. "It is not a fungus, alga, parasite, plant, or animal, yet it has features associated with other kingdoms of life," Boyle says. "It could be a founding member of the newest kingdom on...
