Abstract
The problem of how life began can be considered as a matter of basic chemistry. How did the molecules of life arise from non-biological chemistry? Stanley Miller’s famous experiment in 1953, in which he produced amino acids under simulated early Earth conditions, was a huge leap forward in our understanding of this problem. Our research first simulated early Earth conditions based on Miller’s experiment and we then repeated the experiment using Titan post-impact conditions. We simulated conditions that could have existed on Titan after an asteroid strike. Specifically, we simulated conditions after a potential strike in the subpolar regions of Titan that exhibit vast methane-ethane lakes. If the asteroid or comet was of sufficient size, it would also puncture the icy crust and bring up some of the subsurface liquid ammonia-water mixture. Since, O’Brian, Lorenz and Lunine showed that a liquid water-ammonia body could exist between about 102–104 years on Titan after an asteroid impact we modified our experimental conditions to include an ammonia-water mixture in the reaction medium. Here we report on the resulting amino acids found using the Titan post-impact conditions in a classical Miller experimental reaction set-up and how they differ from the simulated early Earth conditions.
Highlights
In his famous experiment, Stanley Miller added supposed components of the early Earth’s atmosphere to a closed system containing a sample “early ocean” as well as electrodes to simulate lightening [1]
We report on the resulting amino acids found using Titan post-impact conditions in a classical Miller experimental reaction set-up and how they differ from the simulated early Earth conditions
The amino acids observed from the early Earth conditions are very similar to the amino acids seen in the original Miller experiment and in several follow-up experiments [1,9]
Summary
Stanley Miller added supposed components of the early Earth’s atmosphere to a closed system containing a sample “early ocean” as well as electrodes to simulate lightening [1]. His experimental reducing atmosphere contained methane, hydrogen, ammonia and water vapor. Several different groups had attempted simple organic synthesis under primitive conditions beginning in the early 20th century [2,3,4], Miller was the first to put the synthesis in the perspective of Darwin’s “prebiotic soup”. Even though further research has shown that the early atmosphere on the Earth may not have been as rich in methane (and reducing) as Miller thought [5,6], with carbon dioxide playing a larger role, localized reducing environments could have existed near volcanic activity [7]
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