"By following universal paralogs," says Kaçar, "we can connect the earliest steps of life on Earth to the tools of modern ...

A giant virus discovered in Japan is adding fuel to the provocative idea that viruses helped create complex life. Named ushikuvirus, it infects amoebae and shows unique traits that connect different ...

On a planet with 2.5 times Earth’s gravity, everything would feel heavier — including evolution itself. Intelligent life ...

As much as 45 oceans’ worth of hydrogen may be in Earth’s core, scientists reported, suggesting most of Earth’s water was ...

Living organisms share an ancestor called the last universal common ancestor, or LUCA. LUCA is estimated to have lived ...

Life’s story may stretch further back than scientists once thought. Some genes found in nearly every organism today were already duplicated before all life shared a common ancestor. By tracking these ...

The catastrophic impact of an asteroid 66 million years ago brought death and devastation on Earth—but also fascinating new ...

Human intelligence wasn’t a cosmic evolutionary fluke, some scientists say. The case against cosmic loneliness is growing.

Researchers investigating the origin of complex life on Earth might have just made a major breakthrough. The origin of humanity and the planet Earth is probably debated more than whether the chicken ...

Scientists have spent decades cataloging life on Earth’s surface, from rainforest canopies to ocean trenches. But a growing body of research now shows that a vast, hidden biosphere thrives kilometers ...

As you read this, the screen is probably flashing over 240 times per second, yet, as a human, you won't notice this ...

Ancient enzymes show life’s nitrogen signal stayed unchanged for billions of years, helping scientists read early Earth.