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.

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 ...

Scientists refine the timeline of sponge origins, showing soft-bodied ancestors likely evolved later than some chemical ...

Crystals hidden in Australia’s oldest rocks have revealed new clues about how Earth and the Moon formed. The study suggests ...

Early Mars seems to have had a protective atmosphere and liquid water in the form of oceans, rivers, and lakes. It may also ...

New experiments suggest RNA, life’s essential molecule, could have formed naturally on early Earth and even arrived from ...

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

Grab-and-go missions to asteroids have provided some of the most scientifically valuable samples since the Apollo ...

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