A common mineral, α-alumina, found abundantly in Earth's crust, may have played a critical role in initiating the chemical reactions necessary for life to begin. This exciting discovery, detailed in a ...

Asteroids, comets, and clouds contain complex organic molecules that form in space and might have kickstarted life on Earth and elsewhere.

Nearly four billion years ago, the earliest precursors of life on Earth emerged. First small, simple molecules, or monomers, banded together to form larger, more complex molecules, or polymers. Then ...

To date, only a few compounds from the widely available main group elements have been able to activate small molecules. This also applies to carbon monoxide. Moreover, reactions with CO as a building ...

Researchers have devised a new technique -- using a sheet of carbon just one atom thick -- to visualize the structure of molecules. The technique, which was used to obtain the first direct images of ...

(PhysOrg.com) -- New molecular tools developed at the University of Michigan show promise for "cleansing" the brain of amyloid plaques, implicated in Alzheimer's disease. A hallmark of Alzheimer's ...

In nature, ordered structures are essential to maintain both stability and functionality in living systems, as observed in repeating structures or the formation of complex molecules. Yet, the creation ...