 The origin of life remains one of the most intriguing questions in science today. A recent study proposes a new mechanism by which metabolism could have arisen from non-equilibrium conditions. The researchers suggest that naturally occurring catalytic reactions could have formed into self-organizing cycles, leading to the development of metabolic networks. These cycles were found to be exponential in growth rate with different types of cycles forming based on the parity of the cycle and the type of interaction motif. This suggests that metabolic cycles may have developed rapidly following the formation of earth, providing a plausible explanation for the emergence of life. This article was authored by Vincent Wasenrebel, Jamie Aguda Canalejo, and Ramin Galistanian.