1. Home >
  2. Science & Mathematics >
  3. Earth Sciences & Geology >
  4. Resolved Question
Evan Pepper Evan Pepper
Member since:
May 04, 2009
Total points:
147 (Level 1)

Resolved Question

Show me another »

Was the Miller-Urey experiment that of which it actually proved that life on the early earth came about?

in this way? Also, if you can add any other information about the experiment and explaining how it worked and anything else
  • 4 months ago
Paul B by Paul B
Member since:
November 03, 2007
Total points:
52775 (Level 7)

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

Miller-Urey proved that some of the building blocks of life as we now know it could have arisen on the early earth as it was then envisaged. that's all. It did not (could not, was never claimed to by those involved in it) explain the origin of life, but did appear to remove some of the obstacles to it.

It is now thought unlikely that the early earth was as hydrogen rich as the experiment assumed, but more recent work suggests minerals could have increased the yield even under more realistic atmospheric conditions

Nowadays, deep sea vent chemistry is thought more likely by many studying the problem to have arisen at hydrothermal vents than by Urey-Miller type chemistry

See wikipedia entry Urey-Miller. For how it fits in with origin of life, see e.g. wikipedia origin of life, Gen-E-Sis by Robt Hazen (note: the iron age work of similar name is NOT a science textbook), or the Emergence of Life on Earth by iris Fry.

the origin of life on earth is one of the most interesting qq unsolved in today's science (I LOVE unsolved qq; so much more left to learn!); anyone who pretends otherwise is playing into the hands of the creationists, incompetent design merchants, and other enemies of knowledge.
  • 4 months ago
Asker's Rating:
4 out of 5
Asker's Comment:
thanks.

There are currently no comments for this question.

Other Answers (2)

  • Mark by Mark
    Member since:
    September 25, 2009
    Total points:
    3218 (Level 4)
    The Miller–Urey experiment[1] (or Urey–Miller experiment)[2] was an experiment that simulated hypothetical conditions thought at the time to be present on the early Earth, and tested for the occurrence of chemical evolution. Specifically, the experiment tested Soviet scientist Alexander Oparin's and J. B. S. Haldane's hypothesis that conditions on the primitive Earth favored chemical reactions that synthesized organic compounds from inorganic precursors. Considered to be the classic experiment on the origin of life, it was conducted in 1952[1] and published in 1953 by Stanley Miller and Harold Urey at the University of Chicago.[3][4][5]
    In 2008[6], a re-analysis of Miller's archived solutions from the original experiments showed 22 amino acids rather than 5 were actually created in one of the apparatus used.[7]

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miller%E2%8…
    • 4 months ago
  • Aanch S by Aanch S
    Member since:
    March 01, 2009
    Total points:
    300 (Level 2)
    Stanley Miller and Harold Urey sent electric currents through a mixture of gases like those thought to be in Earth's early atmosphere. When the gases cooled, they condensed to form an ocean-like liquid that contained materials such as amino acids, found in present-day cells. The reason they thought these gases were in the early atmosphere, was because Alexander I. Oparin suggested that Earth's early atmosphere had no oxygen, but was made up of the gases ammonia, hydrogen, methane, and water vapor. The Miller-Urey experiment showed that chemicals found in living things could be produced, it did not prove that life began in this way.
    • 4 months ago

This question about "Was the Miller-Urey …" was originally asked in Yahoo! Answers United States

Answers International

Yahoo! does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any Yahoo! Canada Answers content. Click here for the Full Disclaimer.

Help us improve Yahoo! Canada Answers. Tell us what you think.