The concept, based on the latest cellular and geologic research, resembles a suggestion by famed naturalist Charles Darwin that life could have sprung from a "warm little pond" rich in nutrients.

(Find out about Darwin's scientific inspirations in National Geographic magazine.)

Despite this early musing by Darwin, marine-origin theories for life have been popular in recent years, because oceanographers continue to find oases of life thriving on the seafloor.

In these deepwater ecosystems, simple yet hardy microbes munch on noxious minerals spewing from hot volcanic vents—a setting many experts think could resemble the birthplace of the first cells.

(Related pictures: "'Lost World' of Odd Species Found Off Antarctica.")

But in the new study, researchers argue that the fluid all cells struggle to keep