Legos of Life (IMAGE) Rutgers University Caption Rutgers researchers identified a small set of simple protein building blocks (left) that likely existed at the earliest stages of life's history. Over billions of years, these 'Legos of life' were assembled and repurposed by evolution into complex proteins (right) that are at the core of modern metabolism. Credit Vikas Nanda/Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Usage Restrictions None License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.