origins of life

Figuring out how these molecules form in the deep recesses of interstellar space might illuminate the origins of one of life’s distinguishing features.

The biologist David Deamer proposes that life evolved from a collection of interacting molecules, probably in a pool in the shadow of a volcano.

Perhaps chemistry played a more instrumental role in the origin of life than scientists thought.

Searching for signs of life on faraway planets, astrobiologists must decide which telltale biosignature gases to target.

The polymath Christoph Adami is investigating life’s origins by reimagining life as self-perpetuating information strings.

Did the minerals on our planet arise in a predictable fashion, or did they result from chance events? The answers could eventually help scientists identify planets likely to harbor life.

Scientists hope that new genetic letters, created in the lab, will endow DNA with new powers.

Life’s first epoch saw incredible advances — cells, metabolism and DNA, to name a few. Researchers are resurrecting ancient proteins to illuminate the biological dark ages.

All life on Earth is made of molecules that twist in the same direction. New research reveals that this may not always have been so.