Title:
Biophysics of primitive cell membranes: factors affecting their self-assembly, growth, and division

Abstract:
Life as we know it is cellular life. But prior to the existence of phospholipid-based cell membranes, it is likely that primitive cells on Earth were made of simpler molecules. I will discuss how fatty acids, a model single-chained amphiphile (SCA), can self-assemble into membranes with various architectures and also grow and divide. I will also discuss how membranes containing SCAs differ in their biophysical properties from their double chained counterparts.