origin of life
Boeing 737-Sized Asteroid To Pass As Close to Earth As the Moon
On August 16, a 100-foot asteroid will fly past the Earth at a distance just larger than the Moon's orbit.
Asteroid Impacts Can Carry Water, Experiments Suggest
The new experiment relied on a cannon that can shoot marbles at speeds of more than 11,000 miles per hour.
Astronaut Mae Jemison Explains the Origin of Life
"As a little girl, I always knew it was nonsense when the U.S. didn't have women astronauts. In fact, it really pissed me off," she said.
Ingredients of DNA Have Been Found Inside Meteorites
"It's like a little cradle inside of the rock."
Violent Outbursts From the Sun Could Have Seeded Life
Bursts of energetic particles could have helped build the bonds to sustain life.
Life in the Solar System Likely Exists
New technology and new missions are making it more likely every day we'll finally spot life beyond Earth.
Ancient Fossil Is Earliest Evidence of Life on Earth
The evidence makes life elsewhere look likelier than ever.
Origin of Life Could Lie Within Mars's Crust
Martian life could lie deep below the surface.
2 Billion-Year-Old Fossils of Earliest Life Form Found
The prokaryotic fossils represent the planet's oldest-known form of life.
Giant Oxygen Explosions Could Have Set Stage for Life
Molten rock deep below Earth's surface could have been crucial to life taking off.
The Way You Make Hair Blonde May Also Have Started Life
What do model trains and a common household chemical have to do with the beginning of life?
Missing Link Chemical in First Living Cell Discovered
A scientist on the team behind the discovery compares the compound to the Fairy Godmother in "Cinderella."
Scientists Propose a New Theory for How Life Began
The new approach provides a simple solution to a long-perplexing problem.
Tiny Water Droplets Could Have Created Crucial Molecule
"I have no idea how life started on Earth," Zare said. "I wasn't there."
Scientists Have a New Theory on How Life on Earth Began
Nucleotides form the building blocks of life—but where they came from has been a longstanding mystery.