Read the latest positive news, breakthroughs, and inspiring stories about origin of life, curated daily by BrightWire.
Scientists just debunked a century-old theory about comets seeding life on Earth, and the real answer might be closer to home than we thought. Cambridge researchers discovered that the molecules needed for life probably came from right here on our planet.
Laboratory experiments reveal that molten rock under extreme pressure can hold far more oxygen than scientists thought possible. This hidden oxygen reservoir deep in Earth might help explain how our planet's atmosphere became breathable billions of years ago.
Two scientists just won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering how to create the same left-handed molecules that make life possible. Their breakthrough helps explain how life emerged from a chaotic chemical world.
Scientists discovered that life on Earth might have emerged not once, but twice, with bacteria and archaea evolving separately from a shared ancestor that wasn't fully alive. This groundbreaking finding rewrites our understanding of how chemistry became biology 4.2 billion years ago.
Researchers in Spain discovered sugar molecules 26,000 light-years from Earth, revealing how life's building blocks may have arrived on our planet. This breakthrough brings us closer to understanding if life exists elsewhere in the universe.
Researchers detected a life-building sugar molecule floating in interstellar space for the first time, suggesting the ingredients for life might form in cosmic dust clouds before reaching Earth. This discovery could help solve the mystery of how life began on our planet.
Scientists discovered erythrulose, a simple sugar found in raspberries, floating in a massive dust cloud near the center of our galaxy. The finding suggests building blocks of life form naturally in space and rain down onto planets.
Astronomers detected erythrulose, a sugar found in raspberries, floating in clouds between stars near the center of our galaxy. The discovery adds more evidence that the building blocks of life might be scattered throughout space, waiting to spark new worlds.
Scientists discovered a natural sugar used by life floating in a massive dust cloud near the center of our galaxy. The finding shows that the building blocks of life can form naturally in the freezing depths of space.
Scientists discovered ribose and glucose in pristine material from asteroid Bennu, completing the full set of chemical ingredients needed to build RNA. The finding shows life's raw materials existed in space before Earth even had life.
Researchers at the University of Minnesota created a living cell entirely from non-living chemicals, and it successfully divided on its own. This breakthrough brings us closer to understanding how life began on Earth.
For the first time, researchers have shown how RNA could have copied itself billions of years ago without any help from proteins or enzymes. This breakthrough solves a puzzle that's stumped origin-of-life scientists for decades.