Newsweek

How Did Life Start? Crashing Meteorites Could Be Cause

It's one of the biggest questions in science today—which means there's lots to argue about.
If a new paper is right, the first life on Earth could have formed in a pond like this one.
10_02_warm_little_pond

Long before there were humans, or hominins, or even single-celled creatures, there must have been something that sparked life on Earth and became everything we see around us today. On that much, scientists agree—but how precisely life began is far from settled.

tries to answer that question with math. It analyzes one of the two leading scenarios: that meteorites streaming in from the solar system deposited the building blocks of store information and oversee the construction of other molecules.

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Newsweek

Newsweek1 min read
Flood Hopes Stall
Young men inspect the wreck of a vehicle among piles of debris swept along by waters in the village of Kamuchiri, located roughly 30 miles northwest of Kenyan capital Nairobi, on April 29 amid torrential rain and flash floods. Officials said at least
Newsweek14 min readWorld
Trouble in Paradise
ON A CARIBBEAN ISLAND JUST 220 miles from the shore of the U.S. Virgin Islands, a black-clad Chinese security guard swept an arm at more than a thousand acres of woodland and a glittering, aqua-green marine reserve beyond. “It’s like a small country,
Newsweek1 min read
The Archives
“At midnight on June 30, after 156 years of British rule, Hong Kong returns to China,” Newsweek wrote. “Hong Kong is one of the world’s freest places—free not just in its exuberant markets but liberated also in the attitudes of its people.” Despite a

Related Books & Audiobooks