Abstract
The first cell on earth, or the protocell, is thought to be a very primitive existence; informational molecules enclosed in a small sack of membrane composed of amphiphiles. The proliferation and evolution of the protocell should have been achieved by self-reproduction of the informational molecules as well as that of the membrane structure. In recent studies, physical mechanisms for the continuous growth and division of the model membrane have been demonstrated without sophisticated regulatory machinery found in modern cells, proposing the possible pathway of the protocell proliferation.
