Definitely true, but if we just classify "self-replicating molecules" as life, they become just another coexisting organism in the mix of billions, perhaps scav

Definitely true, but if we just classify "self-replicating molecules" as life, they become just another coexisting organism in the mix of billions, perhaps scavenging some form of energy that's unsuitable to larger forms. We've only recently developed the ability to observe things at that scale, and it's still a very fiddly process as I understand it, so the idea that there is undiscovered molecule-scale life interacting with larger-scale life doesn't seem too far-fetched to me. The most interesting answer that I hope comes out of this research is how sensitive the process is that leads to the creation of these molecules. If it's robust and simple, we can expect to find life scattered all over the universe. If it's extremely dependent on conditions found only in a narrow window of time on Earth, the picture is probably much more lonely.