Sulfur plays a crucial role in life chemistry. This fact became personal for me a year ago when I was diagnosed as sulfur deficient. Many protein functions crucially depend on sulfur. Fortunately, … more

This event occurred approximately 2.4 billion years ago. The oxygen content of Earth’s atmosphere rose from just one thousandth of a percent (10-5) of its present level (about 21 percent of the … more

One of my teenage daughters is left-handed. And nobody in our family wants to sit next to her when we eat at the table. It’s not because she has bad manners. It’s because her left arm … more

Members of the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn’s moons have published the first of their findings from the second close flyby by the planetary probe of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. They … more

My teenage daughters spend a lot of time in front of the mirror. For my girls, life without a mirror is unimaginable.

But they aren’t the only ones who feel that way. Origin-of-life researchers … more

Metabolic Cycles on Early Earth Deemed Implausible by Famous Origin-of-Life Researcher

When someone speaks to you from beyond the grave, you better pay attention. A paper, submitted posthumously on … more

A team of American astronomers recently announced the discovery of the first known planet outside our solar system to spend its entire orbit within the “habitable zone.”1When astronomers … more

Earlier this fall (September 25) I had a three-minute debate on Mancow’s Morning Madhouse, a nationally syndicated radio show, on the topic “Is there scientific evidence for intelligent … more

Part of the problem is that in their search for signs of present or past existing life beyond planet Earth, astrobiologists have been attempting to detect biomarker molecules that already are known to … more

The replicating molecules of life (DNA and RNA) are composed of different nucleobase molecules linked together by phosphates and five-carbon sugars. Without the nucleobase molecules the replicating … more

No Good Options for the Origin of Life

Origin-of-life investigators adopt one of two fundamental approaches to explain life’s beginning: (1) replicator-first, and (2) metabolism-first … more

No Good Options for the Origin of Life

The hall-of-fame catcher Yogi Berra is reputed to have said, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” Origin-of-life researchers have been … more

Reflections on Stanley Miller's Death and Life

Chemist Stanley L. Miller died in late May (March 7, 1930-May 20, 2007).

Even if you don't recognize the name, you are probably familiar with his … more

Compulsory features for the replicating molecules of life (DNA and RNA) include five-carbon sugars, namely deoxyribose for DNA and ribose for RNA. These sugars form the backbone of DNA and RNA. … more

If you don’t recognize the name, you are probably familiar with his famous experiment. Virtually every high school biology text describes the work Miller performed in the early 1950s. He filled … more

Even the simplest life-form is orders of magnitude more complicated than anything on display at Legoland. Nevertheless, like the Legoland structures, life molecules are assemblages of a relatively … more

The Apollo missions were more than just television spectaculars, however. The Apollo program helped us solve the mystery of the moon’s origin and helped establish how amazingly designed the moon … more

TNRTB Archive - Retained for reference information

Discovery of the rapid destruction of amino acids in astronomical environments continues to highlight problems in naturalistic models of … more

Without water life is impossible. Without "drinkable" (liquid) water, life is still impossible. The problem with water in the universe is perhaps best depicted in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s epic … more

A recent scientific study created a stir by asserting that humans and chimpanzees belong to the same genus.1 Morris Goodman, an evolutionary biologist from Wayne State University, and his research … more