title: Origin of Life: Protocells Red in Tooth and Claw.
abstract: To study the origin of life, synthetic biologists construct simple 'protocells', but previous models were not able to reproduce both genome and membrane sustainably. A recent advance feeds the protocells by vesicle fusion, suggesting a practical pathway for indefinite self-reproduction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9510, USA.
authors.forename: Ranajay
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Saha
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9510, USA; Program in Biomolecular Sciences and Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9510, USA. Electronic address: chen@chem.ucsb.edu.
authors.forename: Irene A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D058045:Artificial Cells; D008561:Membrane Fusion; D000069497:Origin of Life