Mott the Hoople
Sweet Jane
Just read a very interesting article that presents a very interesting hypothesis on how early prokaryotic cells evolved. The paper shows how compartmentalization would have played a critical role in the development of early life by forming structures that would have acted to compartmentalize RNA even in the absences of phospholipid molecules that make up modern cellular membranes. It certainly is a plausable hypothesis considering RNA can form many more reactive chemical conformations than DNA making it more functionally interactive at a molecular level. The experiments referenced show how membrane partition and compartmentalization would have created phase seperation of polymeric macromolecules that would have dramatically increased rates of reactivity. According to the research by an impressive 70 times.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-10/ps-ecm101112.php
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-10/ps-ecm101112.php