We will have our first ever online 101 Lecture, Protocells 101, which will be given by Dr Claudia Bonfio.
Abstract: Why does life need compartments?
Living organisms use lipid membranes to selectively control what molecules may enter and exit the cell. The interior of modern cells is also organised in (membrane-bound or membrane-less) sub-compartments, each of them hosting a fundamental biological process. Due to their relevance in living cells, compartments likely played a key role in the emergence and evolution of early cells.
In this talk, Dr Bonfio will describe how primitive compartments could have formed on early Earth and what kind of prebiotic processes could have been hosted within them. She will also discuss recent advancements in the study of primitive cells in the effort to connect prebiotic chemistry to modern biology.
Click here for an invite.