Researchers report that prebiotic amino acids bind to membranes composed of prebiotic fatty acids and can stabilize the membranes in the presence of magnesium ions or sodium chloride even after dilution to low concentrations, as would have occurred in pools undergoing drying and rehydration where protocell formation has been proposed to have occurred; the results suggest how the first cell membranes might have formed and how key cellular components might have co-localized, according to the authors.
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Article #19-00275: "Prebiotic amino acids bind to and stabilize prebiotic fatty acid membranes," by Caitlin E. Cornell et al .
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences