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A New Way to Think About Earth's First Cells
A Model Protocell. Above is a three-dimensional view of a model protocell approximately 100 nanometers in diameter. The protocell's fatty acid membrane allows nutrients and DNA building blocks to enter the cell and participate in non-enzymatic copying of the cell's DNA. The newly formed strands of DNA remain in the protocell.
Credit: Janet Iwasa, Szostak Laboratory, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital
See: National Science Foundation: A New Way to Think About Earth's First Cells See more National Foundation of Sciences protocell images and videos: |
