The origins of life remain a major mystery. How were complex molecules able to form and remain intact for prolonged periods without disintegrating? A team has demonstrated a mechanism that could have ...

A strand of RNA just 45 nucleotides long can copy its own complementary sequence in frozen conditions that may resemble early Earth, according to a study published in Science in early 2026. The ...

Chemists at UCL and the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology have demonstrated how RNA (ribonucleic acid) might have replicated itself on early Earth—a key process in the origin of life. Scientists ...

Chemists say they have solved a crucial problem in a theory of life’s beginnings, by demonstrating that RNA molecules can link short chains of amino acids together. The findings, published on 11 May ...

According to the RNA world hypothesis, life began when RNA molecules evolved the ability to make more copies of themselves. Now we have discovered an RNA molecule that is almost capable of this – it ...

New research suggests life began with a chimeric mix of RNA and DNA. This would explain a longstanding puzzle, because pure RNA is hard to split apart. Enzyme-free RNA transmission could have ...

There are a number of theories about how life began on Earth, but one new study published October 3 in ACS Nano suggests that the building blocks of life could have been created with liquid crystals.

The idea that life’s deepest, oldest roots were laid down by RNA molecules that evolved ever more complexity has dominated the origins-of-life field for the past few decades, reigning over competing ...