I like this idea because it is a membrane-first type of scenario. I've always thought the idea of naked molecules replicating outside of an enclosed space to be

I like this idea because it is a membrane-first type of scenario. I've always thought the idea of naked molecules replicating outside of an enclosed space to be unlikely. It is likely that membranes were there from the very beginning, and there was never a phase where you just have molecules replicating in the open ocean without a cell to enclose them.