Life arose on hydrogen energy

How did the first chemical reactions get started at the origin of life and what was their source of energy? Researchers at the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) have reconstructed the metabolism of the last universal ...

A Subterranean ecosystem in the Chicxulub crater

A new study reveals that the Chicxulub impact crater and its hydrothermal system hosted a subterranean ecosystem that could provide a glimpse of Earth's primordial life.

Complex life a billion years earlier than thought?

Researchers said Tuesday they had uncovered fossils showing that complex life on Earth began more than 1.5 billion years ago, nearly a billion years earlier than previously thought.

A salt-free primordial soup?

Most scientists who study the origin of life assume that it occurred in the ocean. But a minority view is that ions in seawater may interfere with prebiotic chemistry, making a freshwater environment more likely.

Shooting Meteorites in a Barrel

High-impact lab experiments simulate whether the building blocks of life could have survived the rough arrival on Earth via meteorite impact.