Browsing Tag
origins of life
12 posts
Complex form of carbon spotted outside solar system for first time
Compounds called pyrenes have been detected in the Taurus molecular cloud ESO A complex form of carbon crucial…
Freeze-thaw cycle helps asteroids ferry molecules of life to planets
Cracks running through samples of asteroid Ryugu were probably formed by the repeated thawing and freezing of water…
When did life on Earth begin? Surprisingly early in our planet’s history
The oldest known piece of Earth? A 4.4 billion-year-old zircon John Valley, University of Wisconsin-Madison Until recently, many…
The Secret Life of the Universe review: Top astrobiologist explores the possibilities of alien life
An artist’s impression of a rover exploring the surface of Mars MARK GARLICK/Science Photo Library/Alamy The Secret Life of the UniverseNathalie…
LUCA: Last common ancestor of all life emerged far earlier than thought
An illustration showing how LUCA may have been attacked by viruses Science Graphic Design The organism that gave…
Google creates self-replicating life from digital ‘primordial soup’
Snippets of self-replicating code compete for space in a virtual environment Google A self-replicating form of artificial life…
Protocells on early Earth may have been formed by squeezing geysers
Simulations of the crust of early Earth show that cycles of pressure caused by geysers or tidal forces…
Life’s vital chemistry may have begun in hot, cracked rock
Some amino acids can become concentrated as they travel through cracks in hot rock Sebastian Kaulitzki / Alamy…
Bennu: How our golden age of asteroid exploration could reveal life’s origins
ON THE morning of 24 September 2023, Dante Lauretta woke up early, his pulse racing. For 20 years,…
Why space dust is key to everything from star birth to life on Earth
Illustration of a brown dwarf surrounded by a swirling disc of planet-building dust NASA/JPL-Caltech The following is an…