Cells are the smallest units that we can undoubtedly recognise as alive. The membrane, a complex mixture of lipids and proteins, plays a central role in this because it separates the inside of the cell from the outside world. To form membranes, all it takes is air bubbles, water, a few molecules and a little warmth. These are conditions that already existed on the young earth. But how exactly do membranes form? And where could the first living cell have originated?
On this evening, Alexander Floroni from the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich will provide a brief insight into the prebiotic universe and the secrets of the formation of the first cells.