Protocells offers a comprehensive resource on current attempts to create simple
forms of life from scratch in the laboratory. These minimal versions of cells,
known as protocells, are entities with lifelike properties created from
nonliving materials, and the book provides in-depth investigations of processes
at the interface between nonliving and living matter. Chapters by experts in the
field put this state-of-the-art research in the context of theory, laboratory
work, and computer simulations on the components and properties of protocells.
The book also provides perspectives on research in related areas and such
broader societal issues as commercial applications and ethical considerations.
The book covers all major scientific approaches to