New method reveals chemical signs of early microbial life in ancient Earth rocks, showing photosynthesis evolved much earlier than believed.

By resurrecting a 3.2-billion-year-old enzyme and studying it inside living microbes, researchers at the University of ...

More than four billion years ago, Earth was a very different place. Pools of water froze and thawed in cycles, minerals shaped reactions, and molecules bumped into each other by chance. Out of this ...

Our planet is unique for its ability to sustain abundant life. From studies of the rock record, scientists believe life had already emerged on Earth at least 3.5 billion years ago and probably much ...

Scientists may have discovered a reaction that provides the “missing link” to help explain how early life formed on Earth about 4 billion years ago. All living things contain ribonucleic acid, ...

What Scientists Found in 1.4 Billion-Year-Old Air Is Reshaping Our Understanding of Early Earth ...

Dust brought back to Earth by China's Chang'e-6 mission contains rare meteorite relics that could change our understanding of sources of water and other life-essential ingredients in our solar system.

New research suggests that amino acids, the fundamental components of life, may have arrived on Earth carried by interstellar dust grains, possibly contributing to the origins of life as we know it.

The study of early Earth microbial life and its associated organic matter provides crucial insights into the origins and evolution of life on our planet. Recent work has illuminated the remarkable ...

In Earth’s early days, more than 4 billion years ago, the surface was a dangerous and unpredictable place. Violent volcanoes, crashing meteorites, and constant tectonic activity repeatedly resurfaced ...