The first cells were probably no more than organic compounds, such as a simplistic RNA, surrounded by a membrane. In this way, the organic molecules persisted, and the first cells may have formed.Figu...The first cells were probably no more than organic compounds, such as a simplistic RNA, surrounded by a membrane. In this way, the organic molecules persisted, and the first cells may have formed.Figure below shows a model of the hypothetical first cell. The few that survived evolved a new way to take advantage of the oxygen. The first cells consisted of little more than an organic molecule such as RNA inside a lipid membrane. What was the role of RNA in the first cells?