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Origins of life

How leaky were primitive cells?

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If the first cells were simple vesicles, how did nutrients cross their membranes without help from transport proteins? A model of a primitive cell suggests that early membranes were surprisingly permeable.

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Figure 1: Lipid self-assembly.

A. NORTH, ROCKEFELLER UNIV.

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Deamer, D. How leaky were primitive cells?. Nature 454, 37–38 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/454037a

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