My studies into this are limited. However, this is what I've come away with recently.
All the mass of the entire universe was once condensed into a pin point sized "singularity" that was smaller the tip of a needle. Then at some point... BOOM. That was approximately 14 Billion years ago.
The Big Bang launched an expansion of matter and energy that has essentially formed the universe as we know it. Scientists have been perplexed about this because for decades the amount of known matter throughout the Universe in relation to the wide open space created has not been equal to what would be necessary to facilitate the Big Bang. So, it has appeared that nearly 80% or more of the matter produced in the Big Bang was missing. However, with strides in the field of physics relating to dark matter and unified field theories leading to string theory and others has caused scientists to realize that open space is anything but empty. What appears to be empty space is actually vast expanses filled with dark matter and energy. Solid matter is in the minority in the Universe.
String theory is freaky. Due to what they believe is a unified field, what effects one particle in particular can effect another particle on the other side of the Universe instantaneously, as though there is no space between them at all.
Quantum physics, with the Double Slit Experiment, has demonstrated that particles are not "material" in nature, but rather, they are energy that is expressed in various densities relating to the vibration they produce. So, what they have always thought was "solid matter" is actually just energy at higher density than let's say less dense energy, like light. Think of the Matrix. When electrons are fired through double slits in a wall, they behave like waves, not particles. However, when observed, they behave like particles. This means that every single electron is an expression of energy that is reduced to potentialities that manifest in relation to being observed (hence, expectation). Freaky, is it not? LOL
As for life. Yes, it was assumed that life cannot come from non-living matter. However, our entire physical bodies are composed of complex combinations of natural elements found on our planet. Elements that are also scattered throughout the Solar System and the known Universe. We are made of the same stuff everything else is made of. The question has always been... but how did these molecules become connected in such a way to bring replicating complexity? They have created simple compounds of what could classify as living matter in laboratories. But it still doesn't answer questions relating to consciousness.
So, scientists began measuring consciousness as found in humans, animals, and plants. Some real interesting things were found in these studies. For example, when a large swarm of birds are flying together, they move in a unison that expresses a singularity of integrated consciousness, yet while not flying in such formations, they exhibit only individual measures of consciousness. In a very real sense, they share conscious awareness when in these formations. Same with various forms of fish in schools. Then they began to find that things previously thought of as not being conscious react on a subatomic scale to stimuli as a conscious thing would. Enter that Double Slit Experiment. If particles are somehow aware that they are being observed, and as a result express potentialities, does that mean that all matter is at some level... conscious???
Some scientists say, "Yes!" They embrace a minority theory at present called Panpsychism. This notion predicts that consciousness itself is an inherent property of the Universe. Not in that the Universe is consciously self-aware and thinking... but in that the basic property of consciousness resides in everything and is expressed in more complex forms... i.e... living things.
All this stuff is super freaky when one digs into it. Science, especially quantum physics, is bordering on the metaphysical.