Scientists have detected glycolaldehyde (an organic sugar molecule that is directly linked to the origin of life) 26,000 light years from Earth in a region of our galaxy where habitable planets may exist. The international team of astronomers used the IRAM radio telescope in France (pictured) to detect the molecule and they have reported their […]
The primordial organic soup that spawned life on Earth may have gotten some special ingredients from outer space, according to scientists at the Carnegie Institution. Their study, appearing in Meteoritics and Planetary Science, reports concentrations of amino acids in two meteorites that are more than ten times higher than levels previously measured in other similar […]
Life on Earth may have begun as an organic mash in the protected spaces inside of layers of the mineral mica, according to a new hypothesis developed by Helen Hansma, a research scientist with the University of California, Santa Barbara. Hansma proposes that the narrow confined spaces between the thin layers of mica could have […]
Intriguing new evidence of life-like double-helix structures formed from inorganic substances in space has been reported in the New Journal of Physics. The physicists behind the discovery are now pondering whether extraterrestrial life could be composed of corkscrew-shaped formations of interstellar dust. The findings hint at the possibility that life beyond Earth may not necessarily […]
Two scientists from the University of California – San Francisco have developed a model that they believe could explain how very simple chemical and physical processes laid the foundation for life and natural selection. The model, which is based on simple, well-known chemical and physical laws, is described in the The Proceedings of the National […]
European astronomers say they have detected a distant Earth-like planet with conditions that might allow liquid water to exist. The discovery was made using the European Southern Observatory’s 3.6-m telescope and the High Accuracy Radial Velocity for Planetary Searcher (HARPS) spectrograph. Twenty light-years away orbiting the red dwarf star Gliese 581, the new exoplanet is […]
Scientists have discovered that certain clay minerals near hydrothermal vents at the bottom of the ocean can act as incubators for organic molecules. Geochemist Lynda Williams, from Arizona State University, believes her study, published in Geology, shows how some of the fundamental materials necessary for life might have originally come into existence. Williams’ findings are […]
A presentation scheduled for a joint meeting of the Geological Society of America and the Geological Association of Canada will explore the idea that the heavy bombardment of Earth by meteors during the planet’s youth actually jump-started early life on the planet. These musings on the beginnings of early life struck Canadian Space Agency geologist […]
