Comment by monkeycantype

My fave theory for the origin of life is that the porous spaces in the material around the vents were full of pockets which functioned as different cells in which sets of molecules would interact. Groups of molecules that cooperated to form a successful self-replicating metabolism that excluded freeloaders would then colonise neighbouring pockets. But free loader molecules that could infiltrate a metabolism and contribute nothing, but use it only for their own self-replication would also thrive. according to this theory the evolution of metabolism precedes the development of the cell membrane, the cell membrane might have begun as incomplete barrier to reduce loss and entry to neighbouring pockets and evolved over time to become a complete barrier that eventually removed the dependency on a vent-rock-pocket. What I love about this theory is that it sets up the contest between co-operation (cells) and infiltration (viruses) as strategies for life right from the get go.