Life

The James Webb Space Telescope has clearly detected carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of an exoplanet for the first time. The find marks a milestone for the telescope’s goal of analyzing the air of distant planets to aid the search for alien life.

Exactly how non-living molecules sparked life is one of the most puzzling mysteries of science. Scientists have now discovered chemical reactions that can produce the building blocks of life out of materials common in early Earth's primordial soup.

Planning an extra hour in the gym to counteract the effects of that doughnut in the morning? Think again. According to new research from the University of Sydney, high levels of exercise cannot offset the damaging effects of poor dietary choices.

The discovery of extraterrestrial life is most likely to come from tiny fossils on Mars. To aid that search, scientists have developed a portable device called the Biofinder that can highlight organic residue in fossils tens of millions of years old.

Scientists debate whether or not there’s life on Venus. A new Cambridge study has analyzed the Venusian atmosphere and found no sign of the chemical fingerprints microbes would be expected to produce – but it doesn’t rule out life on similar planets.

Scientists have created new artificial microbes by combining two very different organisms into one functioning entity. The hybrid of a yeast and a bacterium adds evidence to a long-standing hypothesis on how advanced life may have evolved.

Evidence is mounting that the key building blocks of life may have been delivered to our home planet from space. Scientists have now identified in meteorites the last two DNA nucleobases that hadn’t yet been found in extraterrestrial samples.

Researchers at the University of Tokyo have created an RNA molecule that can not just replicate, but “evolve” into a diverse range of more complex molecules. This find could plug a major gap in the puzzle of how life on Earth began.

NASA’s Curiosity rover has detected high amounts of an unexpected form of carbon on Mars. That might not sound too exciting, but the kicker is that here on Earth, this chemical signature is usually associated with life.

A mystery that has puzzled scientists for over 25 years may have been solved as a new study led by the Carnegie Institution for Science suggests that signs of ancient life in a famous Martian meteorite may be due to geochemical processes.

Is there microbial life floating around in the clouds of Venus? Scientists have long pondered this question and soon we may get some answers, starting with a cloud-skimming mission in 2023 to search for signs of life.

Jezero crater on Mars was chosen as the landing site for the Perseverance rover because satellite images suggested it was once an ancient lake. More direct evidence has now been found, as photos snapped by the rover reveal signs of flash flooding.