A team of American Museum of Natural History researchers has created a computational model capable of predicting whether or not organisms have the ability to “eat” other cells through a process known as phagocytosis. The model may be a useful tool for large-scale microbe surveys and provides valuable insight into the evolution of complex life on Earth, challenging ideas put forward in recent studies. The model and researchers’ findings are featured in a paper published today in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution.