New three-dimensional reconstructions show how some of the earliest animals on Earth developed, and provide some answers as to why they went extinct. A bizarre group of uniquely shaped organisms […]
Origin & Evolution of Life
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life
Abiotic Ozone and Oxygen in Atmospheres Similar to Prebiotic Earth
The search for life on planets outside our solar system will use spectroscopic identification of atmospheric biosignatures. The most robust remotely-detectable potential biosignature is considered to be the detection of […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Origin & Evolution of Life
Stanley Miller's Forgotten Experiments, Analyzed
Stanley Miller, the chemist whose landmark experiment published in 1953 showed how some of the molecules of life could have formed on a young Earth, left behind boxes of experimental […]
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Origin & Evolution of Life, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Hydrothermal Vents Could Explain Chemical Precursors to Life
Roy Price first heard about the hydrothermal vents in New Caledonia’s Bay of Prony a decade ago. Being a scuba diver and a geologist, he was fascinated by the pictures […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Mars, Origin & Evolution of Life
Mars Mineral Could be Linked to Terrestrial Microbes
Scientists have discovered that the earliest living organisms on Earth were capable of making a mineral that may be found on Mars. The clay-mineral stevensite has been used since ancient […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Metabolism May Have Started in Early Oceans Before the Origin of Life
The chemical reactions behind the formation of common metabolites in modern organisms could have formed spontaneously in the earth’s early oceans, questioning the events thought to have led to the […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Reconstructed Ancient Ocean Reveals Secrets About the Origin of Life
Researchers from the University of Cambridge have published details about how the first organisms on Earth could have become metabolically active. The results, which are reported in the journal Molecular […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Meteorites & Asteroids, Origin & Evolution of Life, Panspermia
Vitamin B3 Might Have Been Made in Space, Delivered to Earth by Meteorites
Ancient Earth might have had an extraterrestrial supply of vitamin B3 delivered by carbon-rich meteorites, according to a new analysis by NASA-funded researchers. The result supports a theory that the […]
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
New Study Outlines 'Water World' Theory of Life's Origin
Life took root more than four billion years ago on our nascent Earth, a wetter and harsher place than now, bathed in sizzling ultraviolet rays. What started out as simple […]
Posted inImpact events, Missions & Hardware, Origin & Evolution of Life
Meteorite Impact Craters May Have Hosted Early Life on Earth
A new study from Western University explores the possibility that Earth’s earliest life forms may have been cultivated by a meteorite impact event. The research team from Western’s Faculty of […]