Astronomers are filling in the blanks of the Kuiper Belt

Next-generation telescopes are mapping this outer frontier. Out beyond the orbit of Neptune lies an expansive ring of ancient relics, dynamical enigmas, and possibly a hidden planet—or two. The Kuiper Belt, a region of frozen debris about 30 to 50 times farther from the sun than the Earth is—and…

Tiny, 45 base long RNA can make copies of itself

Self-copying RNAs may have been a key stop along the pathway to life. There are plenty of unanswered questions about the origin of life on Earth. But the research community has largely reached consensus that one of the key steps was the emergence of an RNA molecule that could…