Origin and evolution of life

Names of recently discovered Ediacaran era fossil animals honor President Barack Obama and Sir David Attenborough

New research has shown that reactions of alpha-hydroxy acids, similar to the alpha-amino acids that make up modern proteins, form large polymers easily under conditions presumed prevalent on early Earth.

The cooling of Earth’s mantle via plate tectonics increased the amount of phosphorus in the planet’s crust, which is vital for biochemistry.

Rutgers-led ENIGMA team examines whether “protein nanomachines” in our cells arose before life on Earth, other planets.

In a new study, physicists examined how the mechanical properties of an environment may shape the social evolution of microbial populations.

Scientists have created a new type of genetic replication system which demonstrates how the first life on Earth - in the form of RNA - could have replicated itself.

NASA has awarded five-year grants, each approximately $8 million, to three research teams that will study the origins, evolution, distribution and future of life in the universe. 

Water is the basis for life as we know it, but did life’s building blocks form without it?

Large concentrations of sulfites and bisulfites in shallow lakes may have set the stage for Earth’s first biological molecules.

By studying liverworts, researchers have found that the relationship between plants and filamentous microbes not only dates back millions of years.