Oparin-Haldane theory In the 1920s British scientist 

J.B.S. Haldane and Russian

biochemist Aleksandr Oparin independently set forth similar ideas concerning the conditions
required for the origin of life on Earth. Both believed that organic molecules could be formed
from abiogenic materials in the presence of an external energy source (e.g., ultraviolet radiation)
and that the primitive atmosphere was reducing (having very low amounts of free oxygen) and
contained ammonia and water vapour, among other gases. Both also suspected that the first life-
forms appeared in the warm, primitive ocean and were heterotrophic (obtaining preformed
nutrients from the compounds in existence on early Earth) rather than autotrophic (generating
food and nutrients from sunlight or inorganic materials).

Oparin believed that life developed from coacervates, microscopic spontaneously formed

spherical aggregates of lipid molecules that are held together by electrostatic forces and that may
have been precursors of cells. Oparin’s work with coacervates confirmed
that enzymes fundamental for the biochemical reactions of metabolism functioned more
efficiently when contained within membrane-bound spheres than when free in aqueous solutions.
Haldane, unfamiliar with Oparin’s coacervates, believed that simple organic molecules formed
first and in the presence of ultraviolet light became increasingly complex, ultimately forming
cells. Haldane and Oparin’s ideas formed the foundation for much of the research on abiogenesis
that took place in later decades.
https://www.britannica.com/science/Oparin-Haldane-theory

Oparin-Haldane Hypothesis In the early decades of the 20th century, Aleksandr Oparin (in
1924), and John Haldane (in 1929, before Oparin's first book was translated into English),
independently suggested that if the primitive atmosphere was reducing (as opposed to oxygen-
rich), and if there was an appropriate supply of energy, such as lightning or ultraviolet light, then
a wide range of organic compounds might be synthesised.

Oparin suggested that the organic compounds could have undergone a series of reactions leading
to more and more complex molecules. He proposed that the molecules formed colloid
aggregates, or 'coacervates', in an aqueous environment. The coacervates were able to absorb and
assimilate organic compounds from the environment in a way reminiscent of metabolism. They
would have taken part in evolutionary processes, eventually leading to the first lifeforms.

Haldane's ideas about the origin of life were very similar to Oparin's. Haldane proposed that the
primordial sea served as a vast chemical laboratory powered by solar energy. The atmosphere
was oxygen free, and the combination of carbon dioxide, ammonia and ultraviolet radiation gave
rise to a host of organic compounds. The sea became a 'hot dilute soup' containing large
populations of organic monomers and polymers. Haldane envisaged that groups of monomers
and polymers aquired lipid membranes, and that further developments eventually led to the first
living cells. Haldane coined the term 'prebiotic soup', and this became a powerful symbol of the
Oparin-Haldane view of the origin of life.

https://www.simsoup.info/Origin_Landmarks_Oparin_Haldane.html