Researchers have also proposed early encapsulation in aqueous phase-separated droplets called coacervates. These droplets are driven by the accumulation of macromolecules, producing a distinct dense phase liquid droplet within a more dilute liquid medium. These droplets can propagate, retaining their internal composition, through shear forces and turbulence in the medium, and could have acted as a means of replicating encapsulation for an early protocell. However, replication was highly disordered and droplet fusion is common, calling into question coacervates true potential for distinct compartmentalization leading to competition and early Darwinian-selection.