Cell Membrane

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Did life begin in deep space?

David Whitehouse
Scientists have duplicated the harsh environment of cold interstellar space and created what they are calling "primitive cells." They say the molecular structures they have synthesised mimic the membranes found in all living things. They could have been important in protecting self-replicating molecules from the outside world allowing their evolution into primitive life. Some of them have strange internal structures These molecules could have been delivered to the young Earth and "kick-started" life on our planet. Using common chemicals, researchers from Nasa's Ames Astrochemistry Laboratory and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California, Santa Cruz, have created so-called "proto"-cells. "This process happens all the time in the dense molecular clouds of space," Dr Allamandola said. "The formation of these biologically interesting compounds by irradiating simple interstellar ices shows that some of the organics falling to Earth in meteorites and interplanetary dust might have been born in the coldest regions of interstellar space."

Molecular Biology of the Cell

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Bruce Alberts et al

Principles of Biochemistry

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Albert L Lehninger et al

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Biological Environment > Cell Membrane

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