11) Predator-prey co-evolution

Acineta, ciliate protozoan predator. Image license Flickr Creative Commons

1 billion years ago, increasingly, predator organisms learn to use the complex biomolecules of their prey organisms, thereby saving themselves the effort of making their own. This quickens the predator-prey dance that promotes the vast diversity of life which will eventually lead to the shell of the oyster and the beak of the seagull, the power of the lion and the speed of the gazelle.