Nitrogen, upon which all life on Earth depends, may hold the key for explaining how early life on the planet evolved and how it could evolve on other planets.

Life on our planet emerged quickly or, at least, it did so on a geological timescale. Fossils reveal that micro-life existed ...

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 ...

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, ...

Have you ever wondered how we got here on Earth, and how it all began? From the Archean Eon to the Holocene Epoch, some ...

"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story: All life on Earth can be traced back to a Last ...

More than 3.5 billion years ago, the Earth was not the hospitable world we know today. The atmosphere lacked oxygen, the seas ...

Exhaust from lunar landers drifts across the moon and contaminates ultra-cold polar craters that are rich in ancient ice and ...

New research suggests that amino acids, the fundamental components of life, may have arrived on Earth carried by interstellar dust grains, possibly contributing to the origins of life as we know it.

Hungarian biologist Tibor Gánti is an obscure figure. Now, more than a decade after his death, his ideas about how life began ...

"This is the story of Earth like you’ve never seen it before—from the first spark of life to prehistoric monsters to the rise of humans… and all the weird stuff in between." We live on a magnificently ...

New method reveals chemical signs of early microbial life in ancient Earth rocks, showing photosynthesis evolved much earlier than believed.