Protocells could be the beginning of life on Earth, perhaps the birth of consciousness as we understand it. These simple ‘prototype cells’ are tiny bubbles, the result of a reaction from a few basic chemicals. They exhibit complex and life-like behaviors which may answer Charles Darwin’s unanswered question regarding the “spark of life” that started evolution, as well as the question asked by Neil deGrasse Tyson, on ‘Charlie Rose,’ in response to Charlie Rose’s question, “What’s the one most important question you would like to see answered?” protocellcircus.com

If the behaviors of the protocells appear similar to our own, it may be because our own behaviors reflect those of the protocells - life as we currently know it may be the result of the evolution of a physiochemical reaction such as this; we, and the protocells, may be a manifestation of the universe’s already-present consciousness, permitted by the inherent properties, behaviors and interactions of certain physical matter.