Could complex, macroscopic life arise and exist without cells?

For the purposes of this question only, I am making the following definitions:

• Cell: a microscopic, membrane-bound subunit of a living organism.
• Living organism: an entity composed primarily of biological macromolecules that eats, reproduces, and evolves.

Everything on Earth that is unambiguously alive today is composed of cells, from unicellular microbes to large creatures with hundreds of trillions of cells.

I am curious about the possibility of non-cellular life. Could life exist without cells?

• Specifically, could living organisms naturally arise from non-living molecules, evolve and increase in complexity, and go on to form a biosphere without cells arising at any point?

• If such life is possible, how would it differ from cellular life?

posted almost 9 years ago

ApproachingDarknessFish‭

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