The Early History of Protocells: The Search for the Recipe of Life

This book discusses the methods and conditions to produce protocells. The production of a protocell requires the combination of an appropriate mix of nonliving molecules, let them react, and self-assemble in a living protocell. This introduction provides a brief overview of protocells and the scientific roots of contemporary protocell research. It situates protocell science in the broader context of the theories of life, minimal forms of life and the origin of life.