The origin of life is still one of humankind's great mysteries. At the transition between
nonliving and living matter, protocells, initially featureless aggregates of abiotic matter, gain …

Protocells at life's origin are often conceived as bilayer-enclosed precursors of life, whose
self-reproduction rests on the early advent of replicating catalytic biopolymers. This …

In contrast to ordinary condensed matter systems,“living systems” are unique. They are
based on molecular compartments that reproduce themselves through (i) an uptake of …

Solar radiation is the principal source of energy available to Earth and has unmatched
potential for the synthesis of organic material from primordial molecular building blocks. As …

Self-assembling single-chain amphiphiles available in the prebiotic environment likely
played a fundamental role in the advent of primitive cell cycles. However, the instability of …

Phospholipids are the primary constituents of cell membranes across all domains of life, but
how and when phospholipids appeared on early Earth remains unknown. Pressingly, most …

Alkaline hydrothermal vents have become a candidate setting for the origins of life on Earth
and beyond. This is due to several key features including the presence of gradients of …

The assumption that there was a “water problem” at the emergence of life—that the Hadean
Ocean was simply too wet and salty for life to have emerged in it—is here subjected to …

Dynamic interplay between peptide synthesis and membrane assembly would have been
crucial for the emergence of protocells on the prebiotic Earth. However, the effect of …

Amphiphiles are among the most extensively studied building blocks that self-assemble into
cell-like compartments. Most literature suggested that the building blocks/amphiphiles of …