Abiogenesis (Brit.: or ) or
biopoiesis or
OoL (Origins of Life), is the natural process of
life arising from non-living matter, such as simple
organic compounds. It is thought to have occurred on
Earth between 3.8 and 4.1 billion years ago, and is studied through a combination of laboratory experiments and extrapolation from the genetic information of modern
organisms in order to make reasonable conjectures about what pre-life chemical reactions may have given rise to a living system.