Caltech researchers have identified a novel chemical reaction that could explain the formation of the building blocks of DNA and RNA, the molecules that encode all of life's functions. The work is ...

Asteroid impacts may have helped kick-start life on Earth by creating hot, chemical-rich environments ideal for early biology. These impact-generated hydrothermal systems could have lasted ...

Scientists looking for sources that generated life on Earth are considering hydrothermal vents of different types, from vents found in the deep sea to others created by meteor impacts. Meteor ...

New research has found that amino acids, the building blocks of life, may have traveled to Earth on interstellar dust grains, potentially helping kickstart biology as we know it. In a recent study ...

Grab-and-go missions to asteroids have provided some of the most scientifically valuable samples since the Apollo missions—and they’re shaking up the search for life beyond Earth. The OSIRIS-REx ...

"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." One of the biggest questions in science is how life formed on Earth, and the pursuit of an answer to ...