The complex building blocks of life can form spontaneously in space, a new lab experiment shows.

"We used to think that only very simple molecules could be created in these clouds. But we have shown that this is clearly ...

Stephen has degrees in science (Physics major) and arts (English Literature and the History and Philosophy of Science), as well as a Graduate Diploma in Science Communication. Stephen has degrees in ...

Astronomers have spotted an unexpected chemical heavyweight drifting through deep space - and it may offer new clues about how life gets started. Detected near the center of the Milky Way, the ...

Catalytic molecules can form metabolically active clusters by creating and following concentration gradients -- this is the result of a new study. Their model predicts the self-organization of ...

In living organisms today, complex molecules like RNA and DNA are constructed with the help of enzymes. So how did these molecules form before life (and enzymes) existed? Why did some molecules end up ...

A complex form of carbon crucial for life on Earth has been spotted outside the solar system for the first time. Its presence helps show how the compounds needed for life could come from space. The ...

Organic chemistry is packed with rules about structure and reactivity, especially when it comes to making and breaking ...

Far from Earth, in the vast expanses of space between stars, exists a treasure trove of carbon. There, in what scientists call the “interstellar medium,” you can find a wide range of organic molecules ...

An illustration of the density of a water molecule network (blue surface map and red spheres) near the catalytic site (green sticks), projected on the surface of a plant exo-hydrolase, coloured by ...