There are different accounts as to how life on Earth started. However, Science suggests it started four billion years ago when the first cell formed.
In a new study, researchers may have discovered a crucial detail in how life started on Earth -- the explanation for how fat bubbles originally formed the membranes of the earliest cells. A crucial aspect of the recent discoveries made by researchers at The Scripps Research Institute in California is that it's possible that phosphorylation-a chemical process- occurred sooner than previously believed.
Adding phosphorus-containing atom groups to a molecule confers additional capabilities that can transform spherical assemblies of lipids known as protocells into more developed, adaptable, stable, and chemically active forms.
It is often believed that these protocells played a crucial role in the development of biochemistry about 3.5 billion years ago, possibly originating from submerged hot springs and progressing towards the formation of increasingly intricate biological structures.
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