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To understand how life began, we need to answer various scientific questions. We have made great progress in explaining how the simple chemicals that existed on the early Earth built the complex molecules used by living things and how some of these chemicals formed the first catalytic/catalytic molecules. But we are only a short way from understanding the most important question: How did the membrane end up surrounding the first cells?
It is easy to form a membrane that can be formed in water, and it seals out anything that dissolves in water, including nucleic acids. But the membrane then cut itself off from everything else in the solution. Any interesting things in it can be consumed by the ingredients and grind to a halt.
Now, a lab at the University of Minnesota has announced that it has developed a simple mechanism by which a membrane blocks genetic material but can import new material that is delivered to it. The system also randomly divides, creating several generations of “children” before things begin to fail. It still relies heavily on human intervention, but it could provide a new way to explore questions about the origins of life and what a reduced life might look like.
