There are a number of theories about how life began on Earth, but one new study published October 3 in the journal ACS Nano suggests that the building blocks of life could have been created with liquid crystals.

Liquid crystals have properties of both conventional liquids and solids — they flow like a liquid, but their molecular structure is ordered and symmetric like a solid crystal. You’re likely familiar with them already — liquid crystal display (LCD) screens are used in a multitude