Dissolve a few salts and formaldehyde in a glass of water. After a while, the liquid spontaneously separates: droplets with membranes appear, like tiny bubbles. Inside each droplet, chemical transformations occur, and the droplet itself grows, absorbing material from the surrounding solution.
These droplets are not just bubbles. Inside them, new, smaller droplets form, which are also capable of growing. Thus, one droplet gives rise to the next generation. The chemical reactions inside do not fade but sustain themselves as long as the solution provides nourishment. Scientists observed this both in the lab and in vessels placed outdoors, where the mixture experienced day and night cycles.
The experiment shows that creating life-like structures does not require complex conditions. Simple starting materials and a constant supply of energy suffice. This changes our understanding of how easily life could have emerged on the early Earth.
Formaldehyde is a simple substance with a sharp odor, used to preserve biological specimens. In the experiment, it served as a building block for molecules inside the artificial cells.