Washington, D.C., Thursday, November 13, 2008 — Evolution isn’t just for living organisms. Scientists at the Carnegie Institution have found that the mineral kingdom co-evolved with life, more »

Wednesday, November 12, 2008 -- The key to understanding Earth’s evolution, including how our atmosphere gained oxygen and how volcanoes and earthquakes form, is to look deep, more »

Researchers at the Carnegie Institution have developed a new technique for improving the properties of diamonds – not only adding sparkle to gemstones, but also simplifying the process of making high-quality diamond for scalpel blades, electronic components, even quantum computers. more »

The building blocks of life may have emerged in volcanic eruptions on the early Earth, according to a new analysis of classic experiments performed more than fifty years ago.  Using modern techniques to examine samples from the original experiments, researchers discovered previously undetectable organic compounds. more »

NASA has awarded five-year grants, averaging $7 million each, to 10 research teams from across the country to study the origins, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. Carnegie's research team from the Geophysical Laboratory and Department of Terrestrial Magnetism is awarded an Astrobiology Institute grant ! more »

Washington, D.C., 3 September 2008— Nitrogen atoms like to travel in pairs, hooked together by one of the strongest chemical bonds in nature. By subjecting nitrogen molecules to extreme temperatures and pressures scientists are getting a new understanding of not only nitrogen but other similar molecules, including hydrogen.  more »

Washington, D.C., 4 August 2008 - Oxygen, the third most abundant element in the cosmos and essential to life on Earth, changes its forms dramatically under pressure transforming to a solid with spectacular colors. Eventually it becomes metallic and a superconductor. The underlying mechanism for these remarkable phenomena has been fascinating to scientists for decades; more »

Washington, DC, 19 May 2008 - Superconductors can convey more than 150 times more electricity than copper wires because they don’t restrict electron movement, the essence of electricity. But to do this, the materials have to be cooled below a very low, so-called, transition temperature, which often makes them impractical for widespread use.  more »

Washington, DC, 13 March 2008—The organic soup that spawned life on Earth may have gotten generous helpings from outer space, according to a new study. more »

Washington, DC, 28 Feb. 2008 — Interstellar space may be strewn with tiny whiskers of carbon, dimming the light of far-away objects.  This discovery by scientists at the Carnegie Institution may have implications for the “dark energy” hypothesis, proposed a decade ago in part to explain the unexpected dimness of certain stellar explosions called Type1a supernovae. more »