In 1953 Stanley Miller used an apparatus like this one to simulate the chemical conditions on Earth before life evolved.Miller's experiments produced amino acids, complex oily hydrocarbons, and other organic molecules - the building blocks of life. A graduate student at the time, Miller went down in history for
being the first to show that these essential molecules could have been generated on a lifeless Earth.
Stanley Miller passed away in 2007, leaving the contents of his office and lab to a former student.
Here, vials containing samples from the 50-year-old experiments were found and later reassessed using modern techniques.
It turns out that Miller's experiments were even more successful than anyone had imagined. Vials from his volcanic experiments contained a rich mixture of amino acids, including some that have never been found in simulated early Earth experiments before. The New Scientist has the details.
Link to the article: Volcanic lightning may have sparked life on Earth at The New Scientist
Also see:
The Miller Urey Experiment
Protobionts
2 comments:
Thanks for posting this! It reminds me of every discussion I ever had with certain God-fearing friends back in my high school days. I remember hearing so often that "the experiments have tried and they never produced anything resembling life," a claim I never happened to look in to.
You need to ask them folks what a protobiont is then. :D
I think you know that's why I become an atheist right? The shock of discovering that all my religion had given me was straw men...
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