building blocks of life
A Hypervelocity Experiment Mimics the Surface Conditions of Ceres
It might be oxymoronic to say that the more we find out about something, the more mysterious it becomes. But…
JWST Sees Organic Molecules Ludicrously Far Away
When astronomers used the JWST to look at a galaxy more than 12 billion light years away, they were also…
Meteorites Bathed in Gamma Rays Produce More Amino Acids and Could Have Helped Life get Going on Earth
Our modern telescopes are more powerful than their predecessors, and our research is more focused than ever. We keep discovering…
Webb Sees Organic Molecules in the Hearts of Galaxies, Surprisingly Close to Active Supermassive Black Holes
When the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) launched, one of its jobs was studying galactic formation and evolution. When we…
Even More Complex Organic Molecules Have Been Found in a Protoplanetary Disc. Was Life Inevitable?
Will we ever understand life's origins? Will we ever be able to put our finger on the exact moment and…
One of Life’s Building Blocks can Form in Space
Peptides are one of the smallest biomolecules and are one of life's critical building blocks. New research shows that they…
Did Asteroid Impacts Provide Both the Heat and Raw Ingredients to Enable Life?
This is our Great Question: How did life begin on Earth? Anyone who says they have the answer is telling…
Glycine Can Form In Interstellar Clouds
Author's note: This article was written in collaboration with Vincent Kofman, a co-author of the paper it discusses and Post…
One of the Building Blocks of Life Can Form in the Harsh Environment of Deep Space Itself. No Star Required
In many ways, stars are the engines of creation. Their energy drives a whole host of processes necessary for life.…
We’re Made of Starstuff. Especially From Extremely Massive Stars
A new study shows how massive young stars create the kind of organic molecules that are necessary for life. A…