The Times Australia
Google AI
The Times World News

.

Fresh water and key conditions for life appeared on Earth half a billion years earlier than we thought

  • Written by Hugo Olierook, Senior Research Fellow in Geology, Curtin University
Fresh water and key conditions for life appeared on Earth half a billion years earlier than we thoughtRalf Lehmann/Shutterstock

We need two ingredients for life to start on a planet: dry land and (fresh) water. Strictly, the water doesn’t have to be fresh, but fresh water can only occur on dry land.

Only with those two conditions met can you convert the building blocks of life, amino acids and nucleic acids into tangible bacterial life that...

Read more: Fresh water and key conditions for life appeared on Earth half a billion years earlier than we...

Times Magazine

Australia’s electric vehicle surge — EVs and hybrids hit record levels

Australians are increasingly embracing electric and hybrid cars, with 2025 shaping up as the str...

Tim Ayres on the AI rollout’s looming ‘bumps and glitches’

The federal government released its National AI Strategy[1] this week, confirming it has dropped...

Seven in Ten Australian Workers Say Employers Are Failing to Prepare Them for AI Future

As artificial intelligence (AI) accelerates across industries, a growing number of Australian work...

Mapping for Trucks: More Than Directions, It’s Optimisation

Daniel Antonello, General Manager Oceania, HERE Technologies At the end of June this year, Hampden ...

Can bigger-is-better ‘scaling laws’ keep AI improving forever? History says we can’t be too sure

OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman – perhaps the most prominent face of the artificial intellig...

A backlash against AI imagery in ads may have begun as brands promote ‘human-made’

In a wave of new ads, brands like Heineken, Polaroid and Cadbury have started hating on artifici...

The Times Features

Australia’s Coffee Culture Faces an Afternoon Rethink as New Research Reveals a Surprising Blind Spot

Australia’s celebrated coffee culture may be world‑class in the morning, but new research* sugge...

Reflections invests almost $1 million in Tumut River park to boost regional tourism

Reflections Holidays, the largest adventure holiday park group in New South Wales, has launched ...

Groundbreaking Trial: Fish Oil Slashes Heart Complications in Dialysis Patients

A significant development for patients undergoing dialysis for kidney failure—a group with an except...

Worried after sunscreen recalls? Here’s how to choose a safe one

Most of us know sunscreen is a key way[1] to protect areas of our skin not easily covered by c...

Buying a property soon? What predictions are out there for mortgage interest rates?

As Australians eye the property market, one of the biggest questions is where mortgage interest ...

Last-Minute Christmas Holiday Ideas for Sydney Families

Perfect escapes you can still book — without blowing the budget or travelling too far Christmas...

98 Lygon St Melbourne’s New Mediterranean Hideaway

Brunswick East has just picked up a serious summer upgrade. Neighbourhood favourite 98 Lygon St B...

How Australians can stay healthier for longer

Australians face a decade of poor health unless they close the gap between living longer and sta...

The Origin of Human Life — Is Intelligent Design Worth Taking Seriously?

For more than a century, the debate about how human life began has been framed as a binary: evol...