Inorganic life,life in metals

Lee Cronin at the University of Glasgow, has made large building blocks "polyoxometalates" ,which are made of a range of metal atoms, tungsten that is linked to oxygen and phosphorus.

He mixed  negatively charged ions of large metal oxides bound to small positively charged ions such as hydrogen or sodium. with large positively charged ions of large metal oxides bound to small negatively charged ions,and get metal oxide prcipitates which is insoluble in water,and are self assembled cell like spheres.
He call this iCHELLS or inorganic chemical cells.
He gave some key feature of specialised cell,by making oxide structure with holes within and thus allowing chemicals in and out of cells according to size just as in biological cells.This membrane can control over a range of chemical reactions that can happen in the cell..
He made cells inside cells as in organic cells.
This iCHELL worked as equipment for photosynthesis as when open to light sensitive dyes,he create a membrane that split water into hydrogen ion ,electron and oxygen ion,which is first step to photosynthesis.
Another feature was the proton can be pumped across the membrane so to produce proton gradient,which is a key stage in harnessing energy from light.
All these steps could create a self-powered cell with elements of plant-like metabolism.
Later he showed polyoxometalates to use each other as templates to self-replicate.
http://www.ted.com/talks/view/lang/eng//id/1218


I think whether these initial cells do not contain DNA like structure,but as synthetic DNA has been formed by Creg vinter,an initial living cell can be produced,which will be inorganic life.