We care about your data, and we'd like to use cookies to give you a smooth browsing experience. Please agree and read more about our privacy policy.
Quanta Homepage
  • Physics
  • Mathematics
  • Biology
  • Computer Science
  • Topics
  • Archive

What's up in

origins of life

Latest Articles

astrobiology

Scientists Debate Signatures of Alien Life

By Natalie Wolchover
February 2, 2016
Comment
Read Later

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

Q&A

The Information Theory of Life

By Kevin Hartnett
November 19, 2015
Comment
Read Later

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

geophysics

How Life and Luck Changed Earth’s Minerals

By Roberta Kwok
August 11, 2015
Comment
Read Later

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.

Biology

New Letters Added to the Genetic Alphabet

By Emily Singer
July 10, 2015
Comment
Read Later

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

origins of life

How Structure Arose in the Primordial Soup

By Emily Singer
April 16, 2015
Comment
Read Later

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.

Biology

New Twist Found in the Story of Life’s Start

By Emily Singer
November 26, 2014
Comment
Read Later

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.

origins of life

Hints of Life’s Start Found in a Giant Virus

By Carrie Arnold
July 10, 2014
Comment
Read Later

Newly discovered specimens support a more ancient origin for viruses, perhaps all the way back to the origins of life.

origins of life

Early Life in Death Valley

By Peter Byrne
April 24, 2014
Comment
Read Later

Evidence from Southwestern deserts suggests that oxygen-breathing organisms arose on land rather than in the seas.

origins of life

Chemists Seek Possible Precursor to RNA

By Emily Singer
February 5, 2014
Comment
Read Later

Scientists have discovered building blocks similar to those in modern RNA that can effortlessly assemble when mixed in water and heated.


Previous
  • 1
  • ...
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
Next
The Quanta Newsletter

Get highlights of the most important news delivered to your email inbox

Recent newsletters
Quanta Homepage
Facebook
Twitter
Youtube
Instagram

  • About Quanta
  • Archive
  • Contact Us
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Simons Foundation
All Rights Reserved © 2023