What was the first cell like and how long ago was it discovered?

Question

What was the first cell like and how long ago was it discovered?

Answer 1

3.9 billion years ago first primitive prokaryotic cells appear.

Researchers at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital showed that the presence of clay aids naturally occurring reactions that result in the formation of fatty sacks called vesicles, similar to what scientists expect the first living cells to have looked like.

Further, the clay helps RNA form. The RNA can stick to the clay and move with it into the vesicles. This provides a method for RNA's critical genetic information to move inside a primitive cell.

See link for full article - http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2003...