How did life arise on Earth? Rutgers researchers have found among the first and perhaps only hard evidence that simple protein catalysts – essential for cells, the building blocks of […]
Origin & Evolution of Life
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Constraining The Time Interval For The Origin of Life on Earth
Estimates of the time at which life arose on Earth make use of two types of evidence. First, astrophysical and geophysical studies provide a timescale for the formation of Earth […]
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Why Life on Earth First Got Big
Some of the earliest complex organisms on Earth – possibly some of the earliest animals to exist – got big not to compete for food, but to spread their offspring […]
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Creatures Discovered From The Dawn Of Animal Life On Earth
arth’s first complex animals were an eclectic bunch that lived in the shallow oceans between 580-540 million years ago. The iconic Dickinsonia — large flat animals with a quilt-like appearance […]
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
A Simple Chemical Process May Have Led To The Origin Of Life On Earth
Research has shown that reactions of alpha-hydroxy acids, similar to the alpha-amino acids that make up modern proteins, form large polymers easily under conditions presumed prevalent on early Earth. These […]
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Organic Chemistry In A CO2 Rich Early Earth Atmosphere
The emergence of life on the Earth has required a prior organic chemistry leading to the formation of prebiotic molecules. The origin and the evolution of the organic matter on […]
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
How Primordial Life On Earth Might Have Replicated Itself
Scientists have created a new type of genetic replication system which demonstrates how the first life on Earth – in the form of RNA – could have replicated itself. The […]
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Dinosaurs Ended And Originated With A Bang
It is commonly understood that the dinosaurs disappeared with a bang – wiped out by a great meteorite impact on the Earth 66 million years ago. But their origins have […]
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Brewing Up Earth's Earliest Life
Around 4 billion years ago, Earth was an inhospitable place, devoid of oxygen, bursting with volcanic eruptions, and bombarded by asteroids, with no signs of life in even the simplest […]
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Two-billion-year-old Salt Rock Reveals The Rise of Oxygen in Earth's Ancient Atmosphere
A 2-billion-year-old chunk of sea salt provides new evidence for the transformation of Earth’s atmosphere into an oxygenated environment capable of supporting life as we know it. The study by […]