For decades, scientists have scoured the skies and planetary surfaces for evidence that life might exist beyond Earth. New ...

A team of researchers studied the properties of membranes to understand how these cellular structures influenced the chemistry of life on Earth as it began. How life arose remains a looming question ...

A new study explores how complex chemical mixtures change under shifting environmental conditions, shedding light on the prebiotic processes that may have led to life on Earth. In the Painted Desert ...

Life may have emerged from a surprisingly simple network of chemical reactions long before cells or genes existed.

What are planets made of? In Part 2, we dive deeper into the incredible chemistry revealed inside protoplanetary discs. Using ...

"Even very complex organic chemistry is compatible with concentrated sulfuric acid." When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Life as we ...

Several studies in recent years have found amino acids, some of the molecules that make up cell membranes, and other key pieces of the chemistry of life floating on grains of interstellar dust. But a ...

The origin of life on Earth stands as one of the great mysteries of science. Various answers have been proposed, all of which remain unverified. To find out if we are alone in the galaxy, we will need ...

Metabolism is the "beating heart of the cell". New research from ELSI retraces the history of metabolism from the primordial Earth to the modern day (left to right). The history of compound discovery ...

A new study explores how complex chemical mixtures change under shifting environmental conditions, shedding light on the prebiotic processes that may have led to life. By exposing organic molecules to ...