The unique biophysical and biochemical properties of lipids render them crucial in most models of the origin of life (OoL). Many studies have attempted to delineate the prebiotic pathways by which lipids were formed, how micelles and vesicles were generated, and how these micelles and vesicles became selectively permeable towards the chemical precursors required to initiate and support biochemistry and inheritance. Our analysis of a number of such studies highlights the extremely narrow and limited range of conditions by which an experiment is considered to have successfully modeled a role for lipids in an OoL experiment. This is in line with a recent proposal that bias is introduced into OoL studies by the extent and the kind of human intervention. It is self-evident that OoL studies can only be performed by human intervention, and we now discuss the possibility that some assumptions and simplifications inherent in such experimental approaches do not permit determination of mechanistic insight into the roles of lipids in the OoL. With these limitations in mind, we suggest that more nuanced experimental approaches than those currently pursued may be required to elucidate the generation and function of lipids, micelles and vesicles in the OoL.

中文翻译：

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物质的脂肪：益生元化学和生命起源研究中的脂质


脂质独特的生物物理和生化特性使它们在大多数生命起源 （OoL） 模型中至关重要。许多研究试图描述脂质形成的益生元途径，胶束和囊泡是如何产生的，以及这些胶束和囊泡如何选择性地渗透到启动和支持生物化学和遗传所需的化学前体。我们对许多此类研究的分析强调了实验被认为已成功模拟脂质在 OoL 实验中的作用的极其狭窄和有限的条件范围。这与最近的一项提议一致，即人为干预的程度和类型会引入 OoL 研究的偏倚。不言而喻，OoL 研究只能通过人工干预进行，我们现在讨论这种实验方法中固有的一些假设和简化不允许确定脂质在 OoL 中的作用的机制见解的可能性。考虑到这些局限性，我们建议可能需要比目前所追求的更细致的实验方法来阐明 OoL 中脂质、胶束和囊泡的产生和功能。