  Non-equilibrium conditions must have been crucial for the assembly of the
first informational polymers of early life, but supporting their formation and
continuous enrichment in a long-lasting environment. Here, we explore how gas
bubbles in water subjected to a thermal gradient, a likely scenario within
crustal mafic rocks on the early Earth, drive a complex, continuous enrichment
of prebiotic molecules. NRA precursors, monomers, active ribozymes,
oligonucleotides and lipids are shown to (1) cycle between dry and wet states,
enabling the central step of RNA phosphorylation, (2) accumulate at the
gas-water interface to drastically increase ribozymatic activity, (3) condense
into hydrogels, (4) form pure crystals and (5) encapsulate into protecting
vesicle aggregates that subsequently undergo fission. These effects occur
within less than 30 min. The findings unite, in one location, the physical
conditions that were crucial for the chemical emergence of biopolymers. They
suggest that heated microbubbles could have hosted the first cycles of
molecular evolution.
