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 ...

Over the past five years or so we've seen some important breakthroughs demonstrating how enzymes can be used to break down common plastics, such as the PET used for everything from drink bottles to ...

The chemistry that built life on Earth may have begun in deep space, according to a new study. The discovery could help to unravel one of science's central questions: what are the origins of life's ...

Chemists' technique for turning cheap dicarboxylic acids into complex lactones could boost industries from pharmaceuticals to plastics. Chemists at Scripps Research have unveiled a method for turning ...

When nature performs chemical reactions to create energy-rich compounds from simple molecules, it requires energy. So far, it has not been possible to use human-made electricity to drive these ...