Newly formed protocell. Image 2 of 5. Artwork showing cellular components inside a basic cell membrane. This protocell (artificial cell) was formed from a synthetic 'primeval soup' containing PNA (peptide nucleic acid, orange), fatty acids (blue) and lysosomes (enzyme-producing organelles, yellow). The primeval soup was a mix of carbon based molecules that chemically evolved to form simple cells, at the beginning of life. Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, USA, attempted to recreate this in 2006 by making protocells. Here, the loose components have arranged themselves into an ordered structure resembling a simple cell. See G200/112-G200/116 for a series of images showing the creation of a protocell.