Precursor

Domestic corn's wild precursor was teosinte.

The OSS was the precursor to the CIA.

The KGB was the precursor to the FSB.

Dr. Villa and colleagues have developed a vaccine that kept 90 percent of young women from becoming infected with four types of HPV virus. The vaccine protected 100 percent of the women who became infected with the virus against the development of genital warts, a condition that often leads to cervical cancer, and abnormal cervical lesions, another precursor to cervical cancer.

A precursor to the NIAC program, which began in 1998, was suspended in 2007 after a cost-conscious U.S. Congress ordered a review of its effectiveness. A year later, a national panel of experts recommended that NASA continue investigating advanced concepts. Congress eventually gave the go-ahead to restore the program this year.

And for that reason, many analysts argue that animal cloning research should not be used as a precursor to human cloning. Most, including the University of Pennsylvania’s Autumn Fiester, agree that human cloning should be banned because of the high risks and invasive procedures involved.

The Kingdom of Urartu (9th to 6th century BC) is considered a precursor to the Armenian nation.

Oxygen levels on Earth skyrocketed 2.4 billion years ago, when cyanobacteria evolved photosynthesis:[…]. The evolutionary precursor of photosynthesis is still under debate, and a new study sheds light. The critical component of the photosynthetic system is the “water-oxidizing complex”, made up of manganese atoms and a calcium atom.