The origin of the first living molecules on our planet has long been debated. However, recent experiments are revealing new ...

New research shows how RNA, a key molecule for life, may have formed on early Earth using simple chemistry and materials delivered by asteroid impacts, linking space science with the origins of life ...

Sponges are among Earth's most ancient animals, but exactly when they evolved has long puzzled scientists. Genetic ...

Maybe the first life on Earth was part of an 'RNA world.' Artur Plawgo/Science Photo Library via Getty Images How life on Earth started has puzzled scientists for a long time. And it still does.

A giant impact on the early Earth could have brought the building blocks of RNA to our planet, which new research suggests ...

In an investigation to find out what sparked life on Earth, researchers have discovered that RNA formed through surprisingly ...

Some of the most violently destructive forces of nature may have helped assemble the building blocks of life. To build a living cell, you need some pretty complex molecules: things like carbohydrates, ...

IMAGE: A new study by CU-Boulder researchers indicates a thick organic haze shrouding Earth several billion years ago was similar to the one now hovering over Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. University ...

Armed with that information, the researchers went about gathering samples from the areas of land that are believed to be the ...

When Earth was a molten inferno, water may have been locked safely underground rather than lost to space. Researchers ...

Four billion years ago, our then stripling sun radiated only 70 to 75 percent as much energy as it does today. Other things on Earth being equal, with so little energy reaching the planet’s surface, ...

Earth may have gobbled up a Mercury-like body early in our planet’s history, and that may have helped create a heat source in our iron core—an energy source that would go on to generate the planet’s ...