The chemical foundations of life could be found in the frigid pockets of molecular clouds that exist in the space between stars, rather than on any planetary bodies. At the University of Aarhus in ...

Asteroids are some of the oldest objects in the solar system: leftovers from the chaotic time when planets were assembling ...

Earth’s origin story has always had missing pages, from the chemistry of its first crust to the ingredients that seeded life. Now, a series of breakthroughs, from asteroid samples to ancient rocks ...

Scientists have discovered the building blocks of life in samples retrieved from a distant asteroid. In January 2025, scientists announced the discovery of organic molecules— the building blocks of ...

Several studies in recent years have found amino acids, some of the molecules that make up cell membranes, and other key pieces of the chemistry of life floating on grains of interstellar dust. But a ...