Protocell research has created controversy and opposing opinions, including criticism of vague definitions of "artificial life". The creation of a basic unit of life is the most pressing ethical concern, although the most widespread worry about protocells is their potential threat to human health and the environment through uncontrolled replication.
Additionally, postulation into the conditions for protocellular origins of life on Earth remain debated. Scientists in the field emphasize the importance of further hypothesis based experimentation over theoretical conjecture to more concretely constrain the prebiotic plausibility of different protocell morphologies, geologic conditions, and synthetic schemes.