A bold new theory suggests that microscopic mineral “nanozymes” may have been the spark that turned Earth’s ancient chemistry into life. Credit: Shutterstock One of the biggest questions in science is how life first emerged on Earth. Researchers generally agree that the appearance of the first biopolymers and their building blocks marked a critical step in the origin of life (OoL). However, scientists still do not know exactly how a collection of prehistoric inert chemicals (gases) transformed