Origin of Life News
May 21, 2024
Top Headlines
May 20, 2024 The study's findings show mergansers arrived in the New Zealand region at least seven million years ago from the Northern Hemisphere, in a separate colonisation event to that which led to the Brazilian ...
May 15, 2024 The research cracks the code on the iconic baobab tree's origin story, revealing their surprising origins in Madagascar and incredible long-distance dispersals to Africa and Australia. The study unveils how baobabs developed unique pollination ...
May 8, 2024 Ancient, expansive tracts of continental crust called cratons have helped keep Earth's continents stable for billions of years, even as landmasses shift, mountains rise and oceans form. A new ...
May 3, 2024 Land plants cover the surface of our planet and often tower over us. They form complex bodies with multiple organs that consist of a broad range of cell types. Developing this morphological complexity is underpinned by intricate networks of genes, ...
Latest Headlines
updated 2:32pm EDT
May 3, 2024 Researchers uncovered compelling evidence that Earth's magnetic field was in a highly unusual state when the macroscopic animals of the Ediacaran Period -- 635 to 541 million years ago -- diversified ...
Apr. 23, 2024 Bioluminescence first evolved in animals at least 540 million years ago in a group of marine invertebrates called octocorals, according to the results of a new study. The study focuses on an ancient ...
Apr. 24, 2024 Researchers explain the genomic and developmental basis of the patagium, the thin skin membrane that allows some mammalian species to soar through the ...
Apr. 24, 2024 A multidisciplinary research team has combined ancient DNA data with a clear archaeological, anthropological and historical context to reconstruct the social dynamics of Avar-period steppe descent ...
Apr. 24, 2024 A new study has recovered a 3.7-billion-year-old record of Earth's magnetic field, and found that it appears remarkably similar to the field surrounding Earth ...
Apr. 17, 2024 Researchers have shown that an Amazonian butterfly is a hybrid species, formed by two other species breeding together almost 200,000 years ago. ...
Apr. 18, 2024 The origin of life continues to remain a matter of debate. The ribonucleic acid (RNA) world hypothesis proposes that 'ribozymes' which store genetic ...
Apr. 17, 2024 Researchers have identified a variant in the gene TBX1 as key in the development of the unique morphology at the base of the skull. TBX1 is present at higher levels in humans than in closely related ...
Apr. 12, 2024 A deep dive into macroalgae genetics has uncovered the genetic underpinnings that enabled macroalgae, or 'seaweed,' to evolve multicellularity. Three lineages of macroalgae developed multicellularity ...
Apr. 10, 2024 As the centennial of the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925 approaches, a new study illustrates that the attitudes of Americans in Generation X toward evolution shifted as they ...
Earlier Headlines
Apr. 4, 2024 Biophysicists have demonstrated how heat flows through rock fissures could have created the conditions for the emergence of ...
Apr. 3, 2024 Genomic anamolies dating back to the time of the dinosaurs misled scientists about the evolutionary history of ...
Mar. 28, 2024 What did an ancient Chinese emperor from 1,500 years ago look like? A team of researchers reconstructed the face of Chinese Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou using DNA extracted from his remains. The study ...
Mar. 22, 2024 How was complex life able to develop on the inhospitable early Earth? At the beginning there must have been ribonucleic acid (RNA) to carry the first genetic information. To build up complexity in ...
Mar. 21, 2024 The oldest Scandinavian bedrock was 'born' in Greenland, according to a new geological study. The study helps us understand the origin of continents and why Earth is the only planet in our ...
Mar. 20, 2024 Researchers have uncovered intriguing details about the origins and spread of the bottle gourd, one of the oldest domesticated crops. Their work unveils the genetic diversification and population ...
Mar. 18, 2024 A new report uncovers how hydrogen gas, the energy of the future, provided energy in the past, at the origin of life 4 billion years ago. Hydrogen gas is clean fuel. It burns with oxygen in the air ...
Mar. 13, 2024 A new study shines a spotlight on sulfur, a chemical element that, while all familiar, has proved surprisingly resistant to scientific efforts in probing its role in the origin of ...
Mar. 8, 2024 Researchers have discovered a mechanism steering the evolution of multicellular life. They identified how altered protein folding drives multicellular ...
Mar. 4, 2024 Scientists provide fresh insights on the origins of life, presenting compelling evidence supporting the 'RNA World' hypothesis. The study unveils an RNA enzyme that can make accurate copies ...
Mar. 4, 2024 Plant biologists have uncovered an evolutionary mystery over 100 million years in the making. It turns out that sometime during the last 125 million years, tomatoes and Arabidopsis thaliana plants ...
Feb. 29, 2024 A technique originally devised to extract DNA from woolly mammoths and other ancient archaeological specimens can be used to potentially identify badly burned human remains, according to ...
Feb. 29, 2024 Scientists have discovered that viruses that infect microbes contribute to climate change by playing a key role in cycling methane, a potent greenhouse gas, through the ...
Feb. 29, 2024 New phospholipid discovery brings researchers closer to understanding how primordial cells emerged during origin of ...
Feb. 28, 2024 Chemists fill a major gap in origin-of-life ...
Feb. 28, 2024 A genetic change in our ancient ancestors may partly explain why humans don't have tails like ...
Feb. 22, 2024 The evolutionary success of the first large predators on land was driven by their need to improve as killers, researchers ...
Feb. 22, 2024 A chemical compound essential to all living things has been synthesized in a lab in conditions that could have occurred on early Earth, suggesting it played a role at the outset of ...
Feb. 21, 2024 Comparison of over 200 high-quality butterfly and moth genomes reveals key insights into their biology, evolution and diversification over the last 250 million years, as well as clues for ...
Feb. 21, 2024 The sea lamprey, a 500-million-year-old animal with a sharp-toothed suction cup for a mouth, is the thing of nightmares. A new study discovered that the hindbrain -- the part of the brain controlling ...
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Monday, March 4, 2024
- Modeling the Origins of Life: New Evidence for an 'RNA World'
- An Evolutionary Mystery 125 Million Years in the Making
Thursday, February 29, 2024
- Scientists ID Burned Bodies Using Technique Used for Extracting DNA from Woolly Mammoths, Neanderthals
- Microbial Viruses Act as Secret Drivers of Climate Change
- How First Cells Could Have Formed on Earth
Wednesday, February 28, 2024
- How Molecular 'handedness' Emerged in Early Biology
- Change in Gene Code May Explain How Human Ancestors Lost Tails
Thursday, February 22, 2024
- Killer Instinct Drove Evolution of Mammals' Predatory Ancestors
- Compound Vital for All Life Likely Played a Role in Life's Origin
Wednesday, February 21, 2024
- Butterfly and Moth Genomes Mostly Unchanged Despite 250 Million Years of Evolution
- An Awkward Family Reunion: Sea Monsters Are Our Cousins
Tuesday, February 20, 2024
Thursday, February 15, 2024
Wednesday, February 14, 2024
Friday, February 9, 2024
Thursday, February 8, 2024
Tuesday, February 6, 2024
Wednesday, January 31, 2024
- Source Rocks of the First Real Continents
- Neanderthals and Humans Lived Side by Side in Northern Europe 45,000 Years Ago
Monday, January 29, 2024
Wednesday, January 24, 2024
- DNA from Preserved Feces Reveals Ancient Japanese Gut Environment
- Chemists Use the Blockchain to Simulate Over 4 Billion Chemical Reactions Essential to the Origins of Life
- Syphilis-Like Diseases Were Widespread in Americas Before Arrival of Columbus, Researchers Find
- New Pieces in the Puzzle of First Life on Earth
Tuesday, January 23, 2024
Monday, January 22, 2024
Thursday, January 18, 2024
Tuesday, January 16, 2024
Monday, January 15, 2024
Friday, January 12, 2024
Thursday, January 11, 2024
- Even the Oldest Eukaryote Fossils Show Dazzling Diversity and Complexity
- Prehistoric Person With Turner Syndrome Identified from Ancient DNA
Wednesday, January 10, 2024
Tuesday, January 9, 2024
Monday, January 8, 2024
- How Did the Bushpig Cross the Strait? A Great Puzzle in African Mammal Biogeography Solved by Genomics
- Evolution Is Not as Random as Previously Thought
Friday, January 5, 2024
Thursday, December 14, 2023
Thursday, December 7, 2023
Wednesday, December 6, 2023
Friday, December 1, 2023
Thursday, November 30, 2023
- A Mixed Origin Made Maize Successful
- Dishing the Dirt on Human Evolution: Why Scientific Techniques Matter in Archaeology
Wednesday, November 29, 2023
Tuesday, November 21, 2023
Thursday, November 16, 2023
- Research in Lake Superior Reveals How Sulfur Might Have Cycled in Earth's Ancient Oceans
- Plants That Survived Dinosaur Extinction Pulled Nitrogen from Air
Wednesday, November 15, 2023
Monday, November 13, 2023
- Evolution of Taste: Early Sharks Were Able to Perceive Bitter Substances
- Recreation of Ancient Seawater Reveals Which Nutrients Shaped the Evolution of Early Life
Friday, November 10, 2023
Thursday, November 9, 2023
Wednesday, November 8, 2023
Tuesday, November 7, 2023
Monday, November 6, 2023
- 450-Million-Year-Old Organism Finds New Life in Softbotics
- Fossils Tell Tale of Last Primate to Inhabit North America Before Humans
Thursday, November 2, 2023
- New Secrets About Cat Evolution Revealed
- 'Jurassic Worlds' Might Be Easier to Spot Than Modern Earth
Friday, October 27, 2023
Wednesday, October 25, 2023
Tuesday, October 24, 2023
Monday, October 23, 2023
Wednesday, October 18, 2023
- Ancient Diamonds Shine Light on the Evolution of Earth
- The Encounter Between Neanderthals and Sapiens as Told by Their Genomes
Monday, October 16, 2023
Tuesday, October 10, 2023
Thursday, October 5, 2023
Wednesday, October 4, 2023
Monday, October 2, 2023
Friday, September 29, 2023
- Insights Into Early Snake Evolution Through Brain Analysis
- Did Animal Evolution Begin With a Predatory Lifestyle?
Thursday, September 28, 2023
Friday, September 22, 2023
Thursday, September 21, 2023
Wednesday, September 20, 2023
Tuesday, September 19, 2023
- New Recipes for Origin of Life May Point Way to Distant, Inhabited Planets
- Tiny Sea Creatures Reveal the Ancient Origins of Neurons
- RNA for the First Time Recovered from an Extinct Species
Tuesday, September 12, 2023
Tuesday, September 5, 2023
- Fossil Spines Reveal Deep Sea's Past
- Pioneering Research Sheds Surprising New Light on Evolution of Plant Kingdom
Thursday, August 31, 2023
- Mutation Rates in Whales Are Much Higher Than Previously Reported
- Tiny Mineral Inclusions Picture the Chemical Exchange Between Earth's Mantle and Atmosphere
Wednesday, August 23, 2023
Thursday, August 17, 2023
Tuesday, August 15, 2023
Wednesday, August 9, 2023
- Fossil Feces Infested With Parasites from Over 200 Million Years Ago
- New Research Links Early Europeans' Cultural and Genetic Development Over Several Thousand Years
- The Oldest and Fastest Evolving Moss in the World Might Not Survive Climate Change
- Drops of Seawater Contain Traces of an Ancient World