For nearly a billion years, Earth’s rotation stopped slowing down. Locked in a rare cosmic balance, the planet’s day remained ...

A billion years ago, days lasted 19 hours: the balance between the oceans, the atmosphere, and the Moon slowed down the Earth ...

The investigation suggests that LUCA lived on Earth 4.2 billion years ago and had an immune system that could fight off ...

High-resolution isotope data show that a modern-like, oxygen-rich atmosphere was not established until 410 million years ago, supporting a 2-billion-year transitional oxygenation of Earth’s surface.

Life on Earth began simply. For billions of years, tiny microbes ruled the planet. Then, one day in deep time, something changed. Cells gained a nucleus, built inner compartments and learned to ...

Through the analyses of gases and fluids preserved within salt crystals, the team extended the direct record of Earth’s ...

Researchers uncovered that trace compounds like nickel and urea may have delayed Earth’s oxygenation for millions of years. Experiments mimicking early Earth revealed how their concentrations ...