Looking for molecular evidence of life on other worlds is tricky, but a test based on the reactivity of carbon compounds ...

A chemical compound essential to all living things has been synthesised in a lab in conditions that could have occurred on early Earth, suggesting it played a role at the outset of life, finds a new ...

What: SETI Institute Artists-in-Residence present Exoplanetary Poetry, an art-science collaboration that trains artificial intelligence on exoplanet atmospheric chemi ...

If you’ve ever been on a cave tour where the guide shines a black light, you’ve seen the walls and formations glow. The stunning fluorescence is often the result of impurities trapped in calcite rocks ...

The origin of life on Earth stands as one of the great mysteries of science. Various answers have been proposed, all of which remain unverified. To find out if we are alone in the galaxy, we will need ...

The transition from non-life to life was very likely aided by an asteroid hitting Earth, prebiotic chemistry, molecular ...

Explaining isolated steps on the road from simple chemicals to complex living organisms is not enough. Looking at the big picture could help to bridge rifts in this fractured research field. The ...