While outside the ToE, it seems that there is no limit to the discussion on this issue in the group so I thought I'd start this thread. I found this article in the Science News about possible cell membrane formation and found it interesting. "In their lab, the scientists prepared wafers of a frozen mix containing water, methanol, ammonia, carbon monoxide, and other molecules known to be present in interstellar gas clouds. They then subjected the wafers to the frigid temperatures and high vacuum present in deep space. Next, they zapped the ices with ultraviolet light for several weeks, mimicking the high-energy radiation that these molecules would receive in space.
The researchers brought the residue of this icy mixture to room temperature and added liquid water, which would have been present on ancient Earth. They found that the resulting molecules had arranged themselves in spherical vesicles similar in size, shape, and structure to cell membranes." Source:
http://www.sciencenews.org/20010203/fob1.asp
This offers at least a possible explanation as to how the outside of cell got started. Hope this interests some of you.
Craig
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