Astronomers have discovered that sulfur may be a key to helping us narrow down our search for life on other planets.

The idea that life on Earth arose through a series of improbable "hard" evolutionary steps may be misjudged, according to a new paper that says our Earth had a big say in matters.

If we're looking for life as we don't know it, the best solvent out there may be concentrated sulfuric acid — the stuff that's floating around in the clouds of Venus.