We have only one example of biology forming in the universe—life on Earth. But what if life can form in other ways? How do you look for alien life when you don’t know what alien life might look like?

"One Hand Clapping" draws from neuroscience, evolution, philosophy and a rich tapestry of cultural references to examine how ...

We have only one example of biology forming in the universe – life on Earth. But what if life can form in other ways? How do you look for alien life when you don’t know what alien life might look like ...

Chris Impey receives funding from the National Science Foundation and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. We have only one example of biology forming in the universe – life on Earth. But what if life ...

Alien life might look unlike anything we've ever seen on Earth. Trying to find evidence of these unknown organisms will require some creativity. When you purchase through links on our site, we may ...

The origins of life on Earth have long fascinated scientists, particularly the nature of the last universal common ancestor (LUCA). LUCA, the root of the evolutionary tree from which Bacteria and ...

"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." All life on Earth can be traced back to a Last Universal Common Ancestor, or LUCA. A new study suggests ...

Astrobiology faces the fundamental challenge of searching for extraterrestrial life without a universal definition of life or examples beyond Earth, despite the discovery of over 5,000 exoplanets, ...

For decades, many scientists have relied on the "hard steps" model to suggest that intelligent life is rare — the improbable result of a series of unlikely evolutionary leaps. But new research by ...

Surface-bound gels may have offered the structure and chemistry needed for life to take hold on Earth—and possibly elsewhere.