Hydrogen Fueled Life’s Origins: Study
Hydrogen Fueled Life’s Origins: Study
A thermodynamic analysis of more than 400 chemical reactions that likely took place in the ancestor of all life finds most would spontaneously occur at hydrothermal vents, thanks to the hydrogen these geological formations emit.
A thermodynamic analysis of more than 400 chemical reactions that likely took place in the ancestor of all life finds most would spontaneously occur at hydrothermal vents, thanks to the hydrogen these geological formations emit.
Origin of life
Microbial Fossils Found in 3.4-Billion-Year-Old Subseafloor Rock
Ruth Williams | Jul 14, 2021 | 3 min read
The material, now part of an African mountain range, bolsters the idea that hydrothermal veins supported early forms of life.
Lightning Might Have Sparked Early Life on Earth
Asher Jones | Mar 17, 2021 | 2 min read
Electrical storms, rather than meteorites as scientists had previously thought, could have unlocked phosphorus necessary for the development of ancient life, according to a new study.
Origins Reimagined
The Scientist | Nov 1, 2020 | 1 min read
Jeremy England, this month’s Reading Frames author, explains his views on how life may have started not with a primordial, disordered soup, but with smart protein assemblages.
Book Excerpt from Every Life is On Fire
Jeremy England | Nov 1, 2020 | 7 min read
In Chapter 7, “Wind and Breath,” author Jeremy England considers research findings that point to a surprising, emergent property of seemingly disordered molecules.
Reconsidering Life’s Origin
Jeremy England | Nov 1, 2020 | 3 min read
Is the model of early life as a freak occurrence in a disordered, primordial soup of chemicals wrong?
Image of the Day: Fractal Formation
Emily Makowski | Nov 4, 2019 | 1 min read
A mixture of chemicals induces reactions reminiscent of life on pyrite.
RNA-DNA Chimeras Might Have Supported the Origin of Life on Earth
Jef Akst | Sep 17, 2019 | 2 min read
A new study finds mixtures of nucleotide types, rather than pure systems, are more likely to yield the building blocks of life.
Cerebral Inception
Bob Grant | May 1, 2019 | 3 min read
Our brains have evolved to the point where we can build artificial brains that might help us understand our brains. Let that sink in.
Primordial RNA May Have Contained Inosine
Catherine Offord | Mar 1, 2019 | 2 min read
The discovery that the adenosine derivative aids self-replication adds weight to the theory that life on Earth originated from a mixture of RNA molecules.
Oldest Evidence of Terrestrial Life on a Young Earth
Anna Azvolinsky | Jul 23, 2018 | 4 min read
Microbes were living on land as early as 3.22 billion years ago, fossilized rocks show, 500 million years earlier than previously documented.
Mitochondria’s Bacterial Origins Upended
Shawna Williams | Apr 25, 2018 | 3 min read
Contrary to some hypotheses, the organelles did not descend from any known lineage of Alphaproteobacteria, researchers find.
Search for Life on the Red Planet
Diana Kwon | Dec 1, 2017 | 10+ min read
Growing evidence points to a once-habitable world—and recent findings suggest that life could exist on Mars today.
Building Blocks of Life May Have Formed in Water Droplets
Ashley Yeager | Oct 23, 2017 | 3 min read
Reactions that generate fundamental components of the cell run smoothly in microdroplets, study shows.
Twists and Turns
Mary Beth Aberlin | Jul 16, 2017 | 3 min read
New starring roles for nucleic acids
Molecule Similar to Peptides Detected in Protostars
Kerry Grens | Jun 9, 2017 | 2 min read
The dust surrounding emerging, Sun-like stars contains methyl isocyanate, an organic molecule.
Life Before 4 Billion Years Ago?
Jef Akst | Oct 20, 2015 | 1 min read
A new estimate of the origin of life on Earth pushes back the date by 300 million years.
Early Code
Jef Akst | Jun 3, 2015 | 2 min read
New research points to key properties of transfer RNA molecules and amino acids that may have supported the origin of life on Earth.
New Legs to Stand On
Mary Beth Aberlin | Jun 1, 2015 | 3 min read
Reconstructing the past using ancient DNA
Contributors
The Scientist | Jun 1, 2015 | 3 min read
Meet some of the people featured in the June 2015 issue of The Scientist.