A breakthrough experiment, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, offers compelling support for ...

The new findings strengthen the "RNA world" hypothesis that describes how the first life on Earth could have used RNA instead ...

Hints of ancient microbes in Martian rocks and a revived theory about our cosmic ancestry are forcing scientists to rethink ...

“Microlightning” exchanges among water droplets could have sparked the building blocks of life on ancient Earth, new research finds. Here, a wave breaks on White Sand Beach on the Thai island of Koh ...

The original box containing archived spark discharge samples prepared by Stanley Miller in 1958. For unknown reasons, Miller never analyzed these even though this is his first experiment using ...

There is still so much we don’t understand about the origin of life on Earth. The definition of life itself is a source of debate among scientists, but most researchers agree on the fundamental ...

Building on the original Miller-Urey experiments, new work shows that some ingredients of the "primordial soup" came from a thoroughly unexpected place. The results may have implications for our ...

Life may have emerged from a surprisingly simple network of chemical reactions long before cells or genes existed.

GREENBELT, Md. – Lightning and gases from volcanic eruptions could have given rise to the first life on Earth, according to a new analysis of samples from a classic origin-of-life experiment by NASA ...

In the 1931 movie “Frankenstein,” Dr. Henry Frankenstein howling his triumph was an electrifying moment in more ways than one. As massive bolts of lightning and energy crackled, Frankenstein’s monster ...