Many news sites have played up the idea that NASA scientists
have made objects similar to cell membranes. As one site says,
"They have succeeded in creating cell-like structures
spontaneously from simple chemical ices in conditions that
simulate the frigid vacuum of deep space."1 Is this claim really
true? Let's look at the original article and see if it measures
up to the claim. A recent article, "Self-assembling amphiphilic
molecules: Synthesis in simulated interstellar/precometary ices"
(authors Jason P. Dworkin, David W. Deamer, Scott A. Sandford,
and Louis J. Allamandola, edited by Stanley Miller) claims to
show that organic molecules can be formed under interstellar
conditions in "molecular clouds" and that these organic mixtures
can form "membranous vesicles" similar to lipid bilayer
membranes found in living cells. The article was published in
the non-peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences (PNAS).2 It is unlikely that the article
would have passed peer-review, as you wil