Conferring life-like functions to protocells

对于生命的出现，简单的自组装化学物质必须执行关键的类似生命的功能。该项目旨在通过了解原始生命如何在没有蛋白质的情况下获得营养并完成细胞分裂，在软凝聚态物理和天体生物学领域产生新的知识。这一雄心勃勃的目标预计不仅有助于理解生命的起源，这是科学上的重大挑战之一，而且还将阐明膜生物物理和自组装的原理。这些基本的科学发现将被应用于制造具有响应性的胶囊，这种胶囊可以赋予软材料先进的功能。预计会有几次国际合作。

For life to have arisen, simple self-assembled chemicals must have performed key life-like functions. This project aims to generate new knowledge in the fields of soft condensed matter physics and astrobiology by understanding how primitive life could have obtained nutrients and completed “cell” division without proteins. This ambitious goal is expected to not only contribute towards understanding the origins of life, one of the grand challenges in science, but also to elucidate principles in membrane biophysics and self-assembly. The fundamental scientific findings will be applied to making responsive capsules that can confer advanced functionalities to soft materials. Several international collaborations are anticipated.