Over the past decade, the rapid expansion of large-scale data and advances in computational power have allowed machine learning (ML), especially deep learning, to reshape many areas of biological research. […]
The discovery of Asgard archaea about a decade ago has greatly reshaped our understanding of archaeal evolution and the origin of eukaryotes.
How can we measure time more than 500 million years into the past? A study recently published in Nature Communications by researchers at the University of Lausanne presents a new […]
The error catastrophe refers to the proliferation of non-functional molecules in conditions where molecular replication has low accuracy, which is likely to correspond to conditions present at the Origin of […]
A ground-breaking study has traced thousands of conserved regulatory elements back 300 million years, revealing deep principles of plant genome evolution – a discovery that could pave the way for […]
Evolutionary biologists have long known that DNA, the molecule that carries the genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of all organisms, contains a record of ancestry. Indeed, […]
![[Left] Gene duplication results in paralog-specific divergence of ancient CNSs. [Right] CNSs identified within experimentally validated CREs. (A-F) -- Science](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/300-million-years.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
A deep genetic mystery has baffled plant scientists for decades. Although leaves, stems, and flowers develop in strikingly similar ways across many plant species, scientists have struggled to identify the […]
Ribozymes are relics of molecular life forms from the primitive earth that are embedded within modern genomes across all kingdoms of life. Despite significant knowledge from decades of bioinformatic and […]
Microorganisms have profoundly shaped Earth’s biological and geological history, from the origins of oxygenic photosynthesis to present-day global biogeochemical cycles.
Origins 2026 is an international conference jointly organized by the International Society for the Study of the Origins of Life – The International Astrobiology Society (ISSOL) and the Astrobiology Commission […]
