New scientific theory based on ancient proteins suggests that genes did not arise as we believed and that life could have started elsewhere.

Ultimately, the gel-first hypothesis does not claim to provide a definitive answer to the origin of life. Rather, it offers a conceptual framework—one that integrates soft-matter physics, systems ...

Three scientists who discovered powerful techniques to decode and even design novel proteins—the building blocks of life—were awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry Wednesday. Their work used advanced ...

Several studies in recent years have found amino acids, some of the molecules that make up cell membranes, and other key pieces of the chemistry of life floating on grains of interstellar dust. But a ...

A doctoral student recreated a tiny piece of the universe in a bottle to investigate the chemistry that led to life on Earth.

Scientists have discovered the largest organic molecule containing sulfur — a key ingredient for life — ever identified in interstellar space. The researchers call the discovery a “missing link” in ...