The Ribofilm as a Concept for Life's Origins

Recent phylogenetic data indicating that the first archaea were methane- producing galvanizes cross- disciplinary evidence supporting the hypothesis that life arose via thermodynamically directed events at hydrothermal vents. The new developments lead us to propose the concept of a ribofilm in which RNA's origin- of- life role is more akin to a slowly changing platform than a spontaneous self- replicator.