The RNA World concept posits that there was a period of time in primitive Earth's history—
about 4 billion years ago—when the primary living substance was RNA or something …

The complexity of even the simplest known life forms makes efforts to synthesize living cells
from inanimate components seem like a daunting task. However, recent progress toward the …

The ability to evolve is a key characteristic that distinguishes living things from non-living
chemical compounds. The construction of an evolvable cell-like system entirely from non …

Replication, heredity, and evolution are characteristic of Life. We and others have postulated
that the reconstruction of a synthetic living system in the laboratory will be contingent on the …

To date, various cellular functions have been reconstituted in vitro such as self-replication
systems using DNA, RNA, and proteins. The next important challenges include the …

A major challenge in constructing artificial cells is the establishment of a recursive genome
replication system coupled with gene expression from the genome itself. One of the simplest …

In prebiotic evolution, molecular self-replicators are considered to develop into diverse,
complex living organisms. The appearance of parasitic replicators is believed inevitable in …

An introduction to the fundamental concepts of the emerging field of Artificial Chemistries,
covering both theory and practical applications. The field of Artificial Life (ALife) is now firmly …

Cooperation among independently replicating molecules is a key phenomenon that allowed
the development of complexity during the early evolution of life. Generally, this process is …

Giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) are vesicles> 1 μm in diameter that provide an
environment in which the effect of a confined reaction volume on intravesicular reactions can …