Jeewanu (Sanskrit for "particles of life") are synthetic chemical particles that possess cell-like structure and seem to have some functional properties; that is, they are a model of primitive cells, or protocells. It was first synthesised by Krishna Bahadur (20 January 1926 — 5 August 1994), an Indian chemist and his team in 1963. Using photochemical reaction, they produced coacervates, microscopic cell-like spheres from a mixture of simple organic and inorganic compounds. Bahadur named these particles Jeewanu because they exhibit some of the basic properties of a cell, such as the presence of semipermeable membrane, amino acids, phospholipids and carbohydrates. Further, like living cells, they had several catalytic activities. Jeewanu are cited as models of protocells  for the origin of life, and as artificial cells.