Scientists have determined the structure of chlorophyll molecules in green bacteria, which are super-efficient at harvesting light energy. Because the interactions that lead to the assembly of the ...

A common mineral, α-alumina, found abundantly in Earth's crust, may have played a critical role in initiating the chemical reactions necessary for life to begin. This exciting discovery, detailed in a ...

Researchers have devised a new technique -- using a sheet of carbon just one atom thick -- to visualize the structure of molecules. The technique, which was used to obtain the first direct images of ...

For the origin of life on Earth, ancient puddles or coastlines may have had a major ripple effect. A new study shows that a simple class of molecules called alpha hydroxy acids forms microdroplets ...

Scientists discovered chemical reactions that place amino acids on tRNAs and extend peptide chains without enzymes, a key step in the origin of life.

CORRECTION: On Oct. 21, 2014, this story was corrected to explain that when antibiotics kill bacterial cells, they exert a selection pressure on the microbes to develop resistance. During an infection ...

Despite being made from a relatively simple set of building blocks, ribonucleic acid (RNA) has a broad array of complex ...