Primordial DNA could have appeared spontaneously, suggests new study
The self-organization properties of DNA-like molecular fragments four billion years ago may have guided their own growth into repeating chemical…
Evolutionary biology could reveal a universal basis for morality
Recent developments in science appear to indicate that the emergence of life in general and perhaps even rational life, with…
Tiny vibrations could reveal extraterrestrial life
Looking for life on other planets is not straightforward. Usually, chemical detection is used, but such tests are limited in…
How long can our technological civilization last?
By combining the Earth-based science of sustainability with the space-oriented field of astrobiology, two astrophysicists are attempting to answer questions…
Space station experiment identifies microbes that can survive unprotected in space
Scientists conducting a series of experiments on the International Space Station say that some micro-organisms can survive for long periods…
Camouflage or bright colors? What’s better to live long and prosper?
In nature, bright colors are signals that scream, “Don’t eat me!” But how did prey species evolve these characteristics? Now,…
Spinning nanoparticles hint at origin of life
Simply making nanoparticles spin coaxes them to arrange themselves into what University of Michigan researchers call “living rotating crystals,” a…
Europa report: moon’s ocean currents make life possible
A team of scientists who have been modeling the subsurface ocean on Jupiter’s moon Europa say that the ocean’s deep…
New evidence that comets may have seeded life on Earth
A new experiment simulating conditions in deep space has shown that linked pairs of amino acids – essential building blocks…
Rethink creation of life in terms of information, argues new theory
Attempts to recreate the emergence of life by mixing and reacting basic chemicals are wrong-headed, argue two US scientists, who…
Radioactive elements may make extraterrestrial life more likely on exoplanets
An abundance of radioactive elements observed in a number of distant solar systems would make the constituent planets much warmer,…
Ancient microbes found beneath ice of Antarctic lake
Scientists have discovered a viable community of bacteria that survives in a pitch-black, salty, and sub-zero environment beneath nearly 20…
Asteroid belts’ location critical in evolution of complex life
New research suggests that the size of an asteroid belt – and its proximity to a giant Jupiter-like planet –…
Water not necessary for life?
The proteins that are vital to living creatures evolved in Earth’s water-rich environment and it was thought that water was…
New Europa fractured surface theory holds water – and maybe life
Taking observations of Earth’s ice sheets and floating ice shelves and applying them to Europa, scientists say Jupiter’s moon may…
Scientists identify possible smoking-gun for multicellular life
Researchers have created an analog of what they think the first multicellular cooperation on Earth might have looked like, showing…
More evidence for asteroids creating life on Earth
All life on Earth uses “left-handed” amino acids to build proteins and NASA has now found that a greater number…
Brewing a primordial broth on Titan
Replicating the atmosphere of Titan and blasting it with UV light has allowed University of Arizona researchers to create organic…
Knocking on the door of life: Self-replicating RNA synthesized
Scientists have long known that DNA carries the genetic sequence for advanced organisms and that RNA is dependent on DNA…
CO2 detected on distant extrasolar planet
The Hubble Space Telescope has detected carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a planet orbiting a distant star, a possible…
Organic molecule hints at alien life
Scientists have detected glycolaldehyde (an organic sugar molecule that is directly linked to the origin of life) 26,000 light years…
Meteorites Spiced Up Primordial Soup
The primordial organic soup that spawned life on Earth may have gotten some special ingredients from outer space, according to…
Between The Sheets
Life on Earth may have begun as an organic mash in the protected spaces inside of layers of the mineral…
Physicists Mull Whether Inorganic Dust Formations Could Be Alive
Intriguing new evidence of life-like double-helix structures formed from inorganic substances in space has been reported in the New Journal…
Researchers Ponder Primordial Broth
Two scientists from the University of California – San Francisco have developed a model that they believe could explain how…
An Exoplanet With Liquid Water?
European astronomers say they have detected a distant Earth-like planet with conditions that might allow liquid water to exist. The…
Volcanic Clay May Have Served As Womb For Emergent Life
Scientists have discovered that certain clay minerals near hydrothermal vents at the bottom of the ocean can act as incubators…
Meteor Craters The Cradle Of Life?
A presentation scheduled for a joint meeting of the Geological Society of America and the Geological Association of Canada will…