title: Self-assembly of the first cells in a hydrophobic environment with hydrogen as the energy source.
abstract: Two fundamental questions in biology are how and where the first cell(s) self-assembled under anoxic conditions on the Earth. The possibility is explored that life first self-assembled in a hydrophobic environment in the subsurface protected from radiation with ubiquitous hydrogen as the likely universal energy source.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Department of Environmental Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, N1G 2W1. jtrevors@uoguelph.ca
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Trevors
mesh_terms: D002477:Cells; D006859:Hydrogen; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions
chemical_list: D006859:Hydrogen