How did life get started?
To understand the origin of life, we can view the process as occurring in four overlapping stages.
Stage 1: Nucleotides and amino acids were produced prior to the existence of cells (prebiotic).
Stage 2: Nucleotides became polymerized to form RNA and/or DNA. Amino acids became
polymerized to form proteins.
Stage 3: Polymers became enclosed in membrane.
Stage 4: Polymers enclosed in membrane became functional.
There are several hypotheses regarding the origin of life.