Formation of Vesicles

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What had to happen for life to emerge?

Internal chemistry had to be separated from external environment

What provided this seperation and what did this allow cells to do?

Membranes
allowed cells to maintain stable internal conditions

What could have acted as protocells and what is the advantage of that?

Simple Vesicles could have acted as protocells before cells in order to protect and concentrate molecules

Define amphipathic

A molecule with both hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions

How were amphipathic molecules present in early earth?

Organic Compounds

When amphipathic molecules are placed in water, how do they arrange themselves?

Polar heads face the water
Non polar tails cluster together

What does this make bilayer formation?

Spontaneous and self organizing

What happens when vesicles form in a solution

enclose surrounding molecules creating an internal environment different from outside

How does hydrophobic core of a lipid bilayer function?

It acts as a barrier, limiting the movement of polar molecules from inside and outside the vesicle

How does compartmentalization in vesicles help with the concentration of molecules

Organic molecules inside the vesicle are concentrated and regulated, increasing the likelihood of interactions and efficient chemical reactions.

What role do catalysts play inside early vesicles

Catalysts enhance reaction rates, allowing formation of complex molecules

How did vesicle membrane enable energy storage in early life?

allowed the creation of ion gradients which stored energy

How do early vesicles differ from modern cell membranes

Early vesicles were much simpler
lacked embedded proteins and transport mechanism

relied solely on basic amphipathic properties