The first living cell would have to have ORGANIC sustenance to survive, much more to reproduce. Where/what was it?
Amino acids formed by chemical reactions of elements. Basic chemistry really.
Probably methane.
I’d present this a little differently because their are multiple biological miracles here.
I think the first cells were expected to live off sunlight. So, right out of the box they somehow mastered photosynthesis.
But later one cell decided that sunlight wasn’t good enough and it decided to chomp on the plant next door. That’s a huge change. plants don’t have digestive systems but animals that eat plants do. WHAM! It just happened.
Evolution requires more miracles than any other religion.
The first living cell would have been formed of existing complex carbon and protein structures, so there would likely have been ample digestible “food” in the “primordial soup” that it lived in, IMO.
ahem, sunlight? organic chemicals (** life is not a prerequisite for organic chemicals... see comets) around volcanic vents or cometary impact sites?
** http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-33720951
Bacteria do not necessarily need to eat organic matter. You have those which use photosynthesis. You have simpler bacteria which use chemosynthesis, metabolizing sulfides from volcanic vents (of which there were likely plenty in the early days of the Earth). You also have bacteria which get energy from oxidizing ammonia , and others methane (of which there was lots in the early atmosphere of Earth).
Once there were lots of bacteria, there could arise other cells which got energy by eating bacteria.
You've got way too much time on your hands, Dude!
I hit the impenetrable knowledge wall right after...
First there was nothing...
Then it exploded!