Talk:Hydrophobic
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Below is stuff that was added to lipophilic while I was redirecting it to hydrophobic. Some of it could be added to the article, but I think most of it belongs somewhere else. Xevi 22:13, 14 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Surfactants are unique compounds that have a hydrophilic end and a lipophilic end. Soaps are surfactants. They dissolve oils and organic dirts and wash off with water. One part of the soap molecule is attracted to oil and the other part is attracted to water (hydrophilic).
Cell membranes are composed of phospholipids, which have a lipophilic end and a hydrophilic end. It is said that life could not have formed without these phospholipid compounds. The surfactant nature of the phospholipid compounds in the aqueous ocean environment a billion years ago caused these compounds to agglomerate into spherical cells. Inside the cells was lipid material, which included other organic molecules swimming about in the primordial soup. Outside the cells was the water environment. One of the other phospholipid compounds formed in the ancient ocean environment was ribonucleic acid and deoxyribonucleic acid (RNA and DNA), which formed the blueprint for life. Protecting this genetic material inside cell membranes was an essential survival requirement for life to form.
Thus, I ask, are phospholipids a bit of God?