How and where did life on Earth originate? To date, various environments have been
proposed as plausible sites for the origin of life. However, discussions have focused on a …

Here, we review the recent progress in the characterisation and utilisation of coacervates as
protocell models in origin of life studies. We provide evidence that coacervation could have …

Saturn's moon, Enceladus, is a geologically active waterworld. The prevailing paradigm is
that there is a subsurface ocean that erupts to the surface, which leads to the formation of a …

This paper presents a reformulation of the submarine alkaline hydrothermal theory for the
emergence of life in response to recent experimental findings. The theory views life, like …

Phosphate is central to the origin of life because it is a key component of nucleotides in
genetic molecules, phospholipid cell membranes, and energy transfer molecules such as …

Life is the harnessing of chemical energy in such a way that the energy-harnessing device
makes a copy of itself. This paper outlines an energetically feasible path from a particular …

Astrobiology is the science that seeks to understand the story of life in our universe.
Astrobiology includes investigation of the conditions that are necessary for life to emerge …

Venus today is inhospitable at the surface, its average temperature of 750 K being
incompatible to the existence of life as we know it. However, the potential for past surface …

Abstract The European AstRoMap project (supported by the European Commission Seventh
Framework Programme) surveyed the state of the art of astrobiology in Europe and beyond …

Nitrogen isotope ratios in ancient sedimentary rocks are generally interpreted as a proxy for
metabolic nitrogen pathways and the redox state of the water column. Fractionation …