Tag Archives: Lifes

For the first time, astronomers have seen life’s building blocks in ice beyond the borders of our galaxy. Among a mix of complex organic molecules trapped in ice circling a newborn star in the Large Magellanic Cloud, researchers found ethanol, acetaldehyde, and methyl formate – compounds that have never before been spotted in ice form outside the Milky Way. Moreover, …

Scientists have recreated primitive Earth conditions in the lab to uncover how life’s molecular precursors may have formed.The experiment mimics hydrothermal vents deep in the ocean, believed to have existed some 4 billion years ago.It reveals how natural gradients, rather than enzymes, could drive the first chemical reactions of life.The findings support a compelling theory about the origins of protometabolism—without …

Longstanding Mystery Solved: Scientists Discover How Life’s Most Essential Molecule Enters Mitochondria  SciTechDaily Source link

Sign up for Big Think on Substack The most surprising and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every week, for free. For most of human history, we could only imagine what made us who we are. Then, just over two decades ago, the Human Genome Project — the international scientific effort to decode the three billion letters of human …

Having a purpose in life could help reduce the chance of developing dementia, according to a recent study by researchers from the University of California, Davis. The findings are based on data collected on 13,765 participants aged 45 and older, who were surveyed between 2006 and 2020 as part of a US population-based longitudinal study. Key details on the volunteers’ …

“Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links.” Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story: In the beginning, there were prebiotic compounds that were the ingredients for life but had not yet come together in the right ways. Organic sulfur compounds known as thioesters might have catalyzed reactions that ultimately led …

A new study pushes the date of a Scottish meteorite impact from the often cited 1.2 billion years to about 990 million years. That single change reshapes a key chapter in Earth history and reframes when complex life began to spread beyond the oceans. The evidence sits inside a rugged slice of rock in northwest Scotland called the Stac Fada …

Chemists at UCL have shown how two of biology’s most fundamental ingredients, RNA (ribonucleic acid) and amino acids, could have spontaneously joined together at the origin of life four billion years ago. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, the “workhorses” of life essential to nearly every living process. But proteins cannot replicate or produce themselves — they require …

Astronomers have detected a variety of complex organic molecules (COMs) in the protoplanetary disk surrounding a young star, offering compelling new clues about the chemical roots of life. Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), a team led by Abubakar Fadul of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) identified 17 complex compounds in the disk of V883 Orionis. Organic …

Scientists May Have Found Life’s Building Blocks In Planet-Forming Disk For First Time  Study Finds Life might have come from outer space, scientists say  The Independent Stepping Stones To Life-Crucial Molecules Found In Planet-Forming Disk: “It’s Really Exciting!”  IFLScience The evolution of life may have its origins in outer space  Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften Are the ‘Seeds of Life’ Assembled in Space? A …