The earliest living cells must have had very simple structures in order to emerge spontaneously from the chemistry of the early earth.We are attempting to synthesize such simple artificial cells in order to discover plausible pathways for the transition from chemistry to biology.Very primitive cells may have consisted of a self-replicating nucleic acid genome, encapsulated by a self-replicating cell membrane.We have recently described robust pathways for the coupled growth and division of primitive cell membranes composed of fatty acids, which were likely to have been available prebiotically.However, no process for the replication of a nucleic acid genome, independent of evolved enzymatic machinery, has yet been described.I will discuss our recent progress towards the realization of an efficient and accurate system for the chemical replication of RNA.