However, in 2011, scientists discovered that some atoms, including oxygen, iron and other heavier elements, can be expelled from their host galaxy by supernovae and get caught up in giant cosmic ...

Image Credit: NASA Goddard. Atoms forged in stars take a gigantic meandering path before they become incorporated into a future generation of stars and planets, new research reveals.

More recently, scientists have been able to measure isotopes in each of the 20 individual amino acids that make up proteins. This is like having 20 dots of light — better, but still not very ...

Almost everything on Earth is made up of atoms, but where do these fundamental building blocks come from?

Here’s how it works. Many of the atoms in the Milky Way, including the carbon in your body, have taken a round-trip journey through intergalactic space, new research suggests.