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Abstract

There are essentially three hypotheses on the original organic aggregates which gave rise to the first cells: they are based either on the polynucleotides (or their precursors) endowed with enzymatic activity of the so-called RNA world, or on liposomes, or on the coacervates usually called proteinoid microspheres (Fox et al., 1959; Fox and Dose, 1977; Honda et al., 1993; Fox, 1995). In the last few years, the third hypothesis has been somewhat neglected, in spite of the great difficulties the other two are facing (Rizzotti, 1994, 1997).

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© 1998 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Rizzotti, M., Crisma, M., De Luca, F., Iobstraibizer, P., Mazzei, P. (1998). Did the First Cell Emerge from a Microsphere ?. In: Chela-Flores, J., Raulin, F. (eds) Exobiology: Matter, Energy, and Information in the Origin and Evolution of Life in the Universe. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5056-9_27

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5056-9_27

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-6124-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-011-5056-9

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