That would have enabled more of this organic carbon—and carbonate accumulating in shallow water around Columbia—to be ...

Earth’s atmosphere might have contributed to the origin of life more than previously thought. In a study published Dec. 1 in the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences," CU Boulder ...

Researchers recreated conditions from billions of years ago and found that Earth’s young atmosphere could make key molecules linked to life. These sulfur-rich compounds, including certain amino acids, ...

The appearance of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere was a turning point in the history of our planet, forever transforming the environment and setting the stage for complex life. This event, known as the ...

For decades, scientists believed that a vast stretch of Earth’s early history unfolded under stable and uneventful conditions. That assumption is now being challenged by an extraordinary discovery ...

Scientists have discovered that complex life began evolving much earlier than traditional models suggested. Using an expanded molecular clock approach, the team showed that crucial cellular features ...

Earth’s earliest microbes may have built vital chemistry around molybdenum, a metal thought too scarce to matter in ancient ...