the vital element" of any living organism. "The atmosphere above the water was heavy with carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide, and water vapor, but most likely poor in hydrogen." Stanley L. Miller decided to find out how lightning might have affected an atmosphere, which he believed was a hydrogen-rich mixture of molecular hydrogen, methane, ammonia, and water vapor. "Miller simulated thunderstorms by producing repeated electric discharges inside a sealed glass enclosure containing a gaseous mixture of methane, ammonia, and hydrogen, through which water was continually recycled by evaporation and condensation, as would have happened over a primeval ocean." Miller actually found several amino acids and other organic molecules when he analyzed the water after a few days. The result of this experiment is deeply questioned. If one changes the conditions of the atmosphere in this glass slightly one will not find any organic molecules in this glass. The Murchison meteorite, falling in Murchison in 1969, contained simple amino acids. These amino acids were similar to those amino acids which Miller found in his experiment. This shows us that organic compounds can survive the crash through the atmosphere. It is also evidence that simple forms of organic compounds can be created under primitive conditions, not only on Earth, but also in space, and on comets and meteorites.The seeds of life definitely are in a form of various combinations of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, and sulfur. Influenced by electric discharges, radiation, and other sources of energy, the atoms were reshuffled to produce amino acids and other basic biological building blocks. Assuming that amino acids were formed somehow what happened next? It is a long way from an amino acid to a single cell. One might believe that the next step was the formation of proteins, since proteins consist of amino acids. But this is not true. According to majority opinion, proteins m...
