Four billion years ago, our planet was water and barren rock. Out of this, some mighty complicated chemistry bubbled up, perhaps in a pond or a deep ocean vent. Eventually, that chemistry got wrapped ...

The study of early Earth microbial life and its associated organic matter provides crucial insights into the origins and evolution of life on our planet. Recent work has illuminated the remarkable ...

How did life begin on Earth? While scientists have theories, they don't yet fully understand the precise chemical steps that led to biology, or when the first primitive life forms appeared. But what ...

Humans have long imagined life on Mars, but what if the red planet actually delivered life to Earth in the first place?

In Primitive Life Simulator, you’ll travel back in time to experience life in humanity’s earliest days. From hunting and gathering to crafting tools and building shelters, you’ll need to learn how to ...

Scientists from NASA, the SETI Institute and other institutions will study microscopic life forms in some of the highest lakes on Earth atop a South American volcano to learn what life may have been ...

There are key moments in Earth's history that remain shrouded in mystery. The emergence of the first molecules capable of working together to give rise to life is one of them. For several decades, ...

Primitive life is arduous, especially when upgrading living accommodations from a simple survival shelter to a comfortable ...

We’re celebrating 180 years of Scientific American. Explore our legacy of discovery and look ahead to the future. In the late 1800s Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli pointed a telescope at Mars ...

Emerging evidence suggests that plate tectonics, or the recycling of Earth's crust, may have begun much earlier than previously thought — and may be a big reason that our planet harbors life. When you ...