[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Describes characteristics of living organisms, and the origin of life.

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Describes characteristics of living organisms and the origin of life.

A general overview of the origin and characteristics of life.

Learn about the scientific hypotheses of the origin of life on Earth. [5:55]

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] There is good evidence that life has probably existed on Earth for most of Earth's history. Fossils of blue-green algae found in Australia are the oldest fossils of...

An explanation of how life came into existence from early beliefs, such as panspermia, to more recent ideas like abiogenesis.

This multiple-choice quiz on the origin of life allows students to get hints for each question and check their answers after submitting.

Try this quiz about RNA and the origin of life.

Where did life come from? Features a 36-page exploration of the possibilities of special creation or spontaneous generation.

Article describing research done by scientists in their quest to understand the origins of life. Questions are posed throughout about the nature of scientific research.

Explore life's evolutionary history on the planet through molecular illustrations and animations. Pictorial evidence is based on origin of life research and theory.

What molecules were involved in the origin of life? This series explores the roles of RNA, DNA, and protein. Special attention is given to RNA because of its ability to perform several tasks necessary for life processes. All of the...

Learn about the RNA world hypothesis through short animations, informational text, and interactive questions in this virtual lab.

This lecture covers the topic of life now and into the future, including the role genetic engineering will play.

This comprehensive study guide covers the main terms and concepts needed for a unit on the origin of life.

The aim of this article relates the nature of science to our current understanding of the origin of life and describe the formation of the atoms which build the Earth and its life.

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] The creation of a new species is called speciation. Most new species develop naturally. But humans have also artificially created new breeds and species for...

The breathable air we enjoy today originated from tiny organisms, although the details remain lost in geologic time. Scientific American helps uncover this mystery.

Learn about the first form of life on Earth, the cell.

This is an online photocopy of the original text of the children's book Paul Arnold: A Tale of Life in Peru by Franz Hoffmann [1870], a novel about life in Peru.

Article reports on a new study that claims that the energy released from asteroid collisions may have sparked life on Earth. Includes a list of key vocabulary.

This resource provides information about the origin of the universe, the earth and the organisms that live here. You will also be challenged to identify the geographic areas where origins research is taking place.

Featured is a tutorial on exobiology and the origins of life. The tutorial covers the nature of prebiotic Earth, the Miller-Urey experiment, possible sites for the origin of life, the search for extraterrestrial life, politics in...

A five question quiz over the concepts about the beginning of life on Earth. Test your knowledge of this topics.