In high enough doses, hydrogen cyanide can kill an adult human in minutes, but the chemical may be the reason why we’re here ...

Scientists may have discovered a reaction that provides the “missing link” to help explain how early life formed on Earth about 4 billion years ago. All living things contain ribonucleic acid, ...

A giant impact on the early Earth could have brought the building blocks of RNA to our planet, which new research suggests could have quickly formed in the presence of compounds called borates. When ...

Our planet is unique for its ability to sustain abundant life. From studies of the rock record, scientists believe life had already emerged on Earth at least 3.5 billion years ago and probably much ...

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This is a colored view of the C-type asteroid 162173 Ryugu, seen by the ONC-T camera on board of Hayabusa2. Filters: vwx date:2018-07-12 08:01 Image level: 2b (Images after hardware correction and ...

For decades, scientists have searched for clues to how life first emerged on Earth. Many theories focus on simple molecules reacting in water or on fragile protocells drifting in ancient seas. A new ...

The question of when life began on Earth is as old as human culture. “It’s one of these fundamental human questions: When did life appear on Earth?” said Professor Martin Whitehouse of the Swedish ...

Tantalizing clues in 4-billion-year-old asteroid Bennu samples could reveal particular molecular formations that some ...

Grab-and-go missions to asteroids have provided some of the most scientifically valuable samples since the Apollo missions—and they’re shaking up the search for life beyond Earth. The OSIRIS-REx ...

Researchers are uncovering how a poisonous chemical could have helped life emerge.