Machine learning is quietly rewriting the rules of the cosmic hunt for company. Instead of waiting to recognize familiar ...

New method reveals chemical signs of early microbial life in ancient Earth rocks, showing photosynthesis evolved much earlier ...

If nonliving materials can produce rich, organized mixtures of organic molecules, then the traditional signs we use to recognize biology may no longer be enough.

Many carbon-rich meteorites contain ingredients commonly found in life, but no evidence of life itself. James St. John, CC BY When NASA scientists opened the sample return canister from the OSIRIS-REx ...

When NASA scientists opened the sample return canister from the OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample mission in late 2023, they found something astonishing. Dust and rock collected from the asteroid Bennu ...