noun
- droplets formed when certain mixtures of organic molecules separate from water, thought to be important in the origin of life
Usage: scientific; biology
Examples
- Scientists study coacervates to understand how life might have begun on Earth.
- The formation of coacervates occurs when proteins and nucleic acids concentrate in water.
- Researchers observed that coacervates can grow and divide like primitive cells.
- These coacervates may have been precursors to the first living organisms.
- The laboratory experiment successfully created coacervates from simple organic compounds.
- Coacervates demonstrate how complex molecules can self-organize in aqueous solutions.