Human Origins Rethink ?
Out of context: Reply #48
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- Khurram0
While features of self-organization and self-replication are often considered the hallmark of living systems, there are many instances of abiotic molecules exhibiting such characteristics under proper conditions. For example Martin and Russel show that physical compartmentation by cell membranes from the environment and self-organization of self-contained redox reactions are the most conserved attributes of living things, and they argue therefore that inorganic matter with such attributes would be life's most likely last common ancestor.[45]
Virus self-assembly within host cells has implications for the study of the origin of life,[46] as it lends further credence to the hypothesis that life could have started as self-assembling organic molecules.[47] [48]