Origin & Evolution of Life Archives

The Murchison meteorite fell in Australia in 1969, breaking into numerous fragments. It belongs to the carbonaceous chondrite group of meteorites. These meteorites are considered to be particularly pristine. © MPS / T. Klawunn

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Mars, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors

Mars Mission: A Stress Test For The Search For Life

by Keith CowingJune 20, 2026June 20, 2026

Billions of years ago, environmental conditions on Mars were significantly more hospitable than they are today. Our neighbouring planet was likely warm, humid, and surrounded by a dense atmosphere.

Schematic overview of possible paths of major endogenous carbon and nitrogen sources on an early Earth, starting from a CO2−, H2−, and N2−containing atmosphere. -- Astrobiology

Astrochemistry, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report

Terrestrial Abiotic Synthesis of Simple Precursor Molecules Starting from Two Approaches: The Universality of Carbon Reduction

by Keith CowingJune 20, 2026June 20, 2026

To address the chemistry responsible for life’s emergence, we examine the simple chemicals accessible on early Earth and the processes that could have transformed them. We focus on carbon reduction […]

As NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit began collecting images for a 360-degree panorama of new terrain, the rover captured this view of a dark boulder with an interesting surface texture. Larger image

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Mars, Meteorites & Asteroids, Origin & Evolution of Life, Panspermia, Sample Return, Status Report

Mars Organic Geochemistry-Are We Alone, and Where Did We Come From?

by Keith CowingJune 20, 2026June 20, 2026

This review of martian organic geochemistry aims to contextualize recent findings of organic molecules in martian meteorites and from Mars missions within the broader study of origins of life on […]

Phylogenetic tree placing cryptophyte NMs among Archaeplastida. (a) Maximum likelihood (LG + C60 + G + F) phylogenetic tree constructed from a concatenation of 180 nucleus/nucleomorph‐encoded proteins (51 610 positions, 54 taxa). Branch support values are derived from Bayesian posterior probability (CAT‐GTR) and maximum likelihood ultrafast and nonparametric bootstrap. (b) Completeness of the individual datasets shown as a schematic representation of the complete supermatrix alignment (gaps in white, taxa with a large number of gaps correspond to genomes with low sequence coverage). The conspicuous block of missing data in C. mesostigmatica is related to the previously reported lineage‐specific loss of proteasome‐related genes in this genome (Moore et al., 2012).-- New Phytologist

Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Plant Biology, Press Release

Nucleomorph Phylogenomics Suggests A Deep And Ancient Origin Of Cryptophyte Plastids Within Rhodophyta

by Keith CowingJune 16, 2026June 16, 2026

The evolutionary origin of red algae‐derived complex plastids remains obscure. Cryptophyta, one of four eukaryotic lineages harboring these plastids, still contains nucleomorphs, which are highly reduced remnants of red algal […]

Schematic diagram of the domain (not to scale). The red line represents the outer boundary of the core; the blue line is the outer boundary of the BMO. (a) 𝑥–𝑧 (meridional) plane. The 𝑧 axis is Earth’s rotation axis and normal to the orbital plane. (b) 𝑥–𝑦 (orbital and equatorial) plane. The blue BMO ellipse always has its long axis aligned with the Moon, but the long axis of the red CMB ellipse can have a non-zero phase lag 𝛥𝜙 relative to the Moon. Throughout the main text, we assume that the solid mantle is static, in which case the BMO outer boundary is undeformed; we consider its deformation in appendix D. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrogeology, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Moon, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report

Resonant Lunar Tides Of Earth’s Core And Basal Magma Ocean

by Keith CowingJune 16, 2026June 16, 2026

Earth’s magnetic field is generated by fluid motion in the liquid-metal core and has been active for billions of year.

tRNA evolved from RNA repeats and inverted repeats (stem–loop–stems) of known and conserved sequence. See the text for details. ACCA-Gly (line 6) was the primordial adapter molecule. Colors reflect internal homologies and are consistent throughout the figures. The tRNA precursor (line 11) was generated by the ligation of a 31 nt D loop minihelix (line 9, lacking 3′-ACCA) and two 31 nt anticodon (Ac) minihelices (line 10, lacking 3′-ACCA). Internally deleted bases are indicated in bold with strike-throughs. Bases in white bold are anticodon bases or sequence changes to support the tRNA fold. During pre-life, RNAs were formed with and without ligated 3′-ACCA. Underscored positions separate sequence elements and indicate how stem and loop sequences were selected. We posit that GCC may have been the primordial anticodon. GCC can utilize a GGC repeat (line 1) as a pre-mRNA. Secondary structures are indicated (parentheses stand for stems; * stands for loops). -- Genes

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report

The Evolution Of The First Code

by Keith CowingJune 15, 2026

Background/Objectives: tRNAs, tRNAomes, aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (AARSs), the first proteins, ribosomes and the genetic code coevolved. We utilize sequence data to reconstruct key steps in establishing the first code on Earth.

Reconstruction of the ancestral LECA proteome and its metabolic features

Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

Rethinking The Origin Of Our Cells As A Story Of Microbial Alliances

by Keith CowingJune 13, 2026June 13, 2026

All cells in animals, plants, fungi, and protists share a fundamental characteristic: they are eukaryotic cells—complex cells with specialized internal compartments. The cells that make up our bodies are no […]

Schematic of the selection step in the doped in emulsio selection.

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

What Powered the Earth’s Earliest Life?

by Keith CowingJune 12, 2026June 12, 2026

Early biological systems likely relied on RNA molecules to copy themselves and drive simple chemical reactions.

Trillion Gene Atlas -- Basecamp Research

Away Teams & Field Reports, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Panspermia, Press Release, Sample Return, Space Life Science, Tricorders & Sensors

Planetary Genomics: Basecamp Research Launches The Trillion Gene Atlas

by Keith CowingJune 11, 2026June 11, 2026

Editor’s note: If we aspire to mount expeditions to new worlds and then embrace the task of characterizing and quantifying whatever life forms we find, the ability to map and […]

To test the method, the team analyzed more than 100 organic and inorganic samples, including material from three-billion-year-old Earth rocks, dinosaur eggshells and fossilized dinosaur feathers caught in amber, as well as samples collected in space from the Ryugu and Bennu asteroids. Asteroid Bennu. Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Before The Aliens, The Amino Acids

by Keith CowingJune 11, 2026June 11, 2026

Before any wrinkled, wide-eyed creature from a distant civilization asks to be taken home, the first success in the search for life beyond Earth might be more prosaic. A clue […]