Nitrogen, upon which all life on Earth depends, may hold the key for explaining how early life on the planet evolved and how it could evolve on other planets.

Our planet is unique for its ability to sustain abundant life. From studies of the rock record, scientists believe life had already emerged on Earth at least 3.5 billion years ago and probably much ...

Scientists may have discovered a reaction that provides the “missing link” to help explain how early life formed on Earth about 4 billion years ago. All living things contain ribonucleic acid, ...

Life on our planet emerged quickly or, at least, it did so on a geological timescale. Fossils reveal that micro-life existed ...

More than 3.5 billion years ago, the Earth was not the hospitable world we know today. The atmosphere lacked oxygen, the seas ...

Modern cells are complex chemical entities with cytoskeletons, finely regulated internal and external molecules, and genetic ...

Hungarian biologist Tibor Gánti is an obscure figure. Now, more than a decade after his death, his ideas about how life began ...

New method reveals chemical signs of early microbial life in ancient Earth rocks, showing photosynthesis evolved much earlier than believed.

“We may never know precisely how life began, but understanding how some of its ingredients take shape is within reach.

When and where did life on Earth begin? What ingredients does the recipe for life require? Is there life out there beyond the stars, and if so, did it arise in the same way? Or are we alone in the ...

Methane released in exhaust could move from one lunar pole to the other in less than two lunar days, with roughly half of it eventually depositing in areas that may preserve the original chemical ...