Miller-Urey Answers

1. What was the Miller-Urey experiment?

The Miller-Urey experiment was the first attempt at simulating early Earth conditions for the purpose of testing ideas about the origin of life.

2. Why was the Miller-Urey experiment so significant?

To start with the experiment showed that under Earth-like conditions biomolecules can form. This was evidence that the building blocks of life can form from simple chemistry given the reactants that were most likely present on Earth. The experiment also was able to provide legitimate testable science for a theory that at that point was mere speculation.

3. Why was finding Amino Acids as a result of the experiment so important?

Amino Acids are biomolecules that are the building blocks of proteins. Proteins are the more complex molecules that building living things. Prior to the experiment scientists predicted that these molecules could only arise from living things but Urey-Miller Experiment provided evidence that they could arise from simple reactants.

4. What other environments have been shown to provide the conditions for the formation of biomolecules?

Since the experiment Volcanic conditions, hydrothermal vents, comet/asteroids impact, and varied atmosphere have also been shown, in laboratories, to be able to form biomolecules.

5. Do you think it's possible that this same chance event has happened else where in the universe?

Well, this is opinion. But given that there are sugars/lipids found on meteorites there's a good chance that there's many different locations in the Universe where similar conditions exist and it is certainly possible that there's life out there!