Do you know what is the Miller-Urey experiment?
Of course for that you must know what is the Oparin-Haldane hypothesis!
So the Oparin-Haldane hypothesis proposes that life arose from non-living matter through gradual chemical evolution.
In the 1920s, Alexander Oparin and J.B.S. Haldane independently suggested that Earth’s early, oxygen-poor atmosphere and energy sources like lightning or UV radiation allowed simple inorganic molecules to form organic monomers, which accumulated in the oceans to create a “primordial soup”. These building blocks then linked to form polymers, which eventually assembled into self-replicating, cell-like structures!
In simple terms; life came out of non living matter!
So in 1952 Stanley Miller and Harold Urey, conducted a landmark experiment that demonstrated that organic molecules (the building blocks of life) could form spontaneously from inorganic compounds under conditions thought to have existed on the early Earth!
To simulate the primitive Earth; Miller and Urey built a sealed glass apparatus. The set up included a flask of heated water to simulate the primitive ocean and evaporation. A mixture of gases above the water, including methane, ammonia, hydrogen gas, and water vapor, representing the proposed early atmosphere!
Now what do we do for the lightning?
Electrodes that produced electrical sparks to simulate lightning as an energy source. A condenser to cool the vapor, causing it to rain back into the “ocean,” simulating the water cycle!
A primitive Earth was thus created!
After running the experiment for a week, the water turned a reddish-brown color. Analysis using paper chromatography revealed the formation of various organic molecules, including several amino acids (the building blocks of proteins), such as glycine, alpha-alanine, and beta-alanine.
The experiment provided the first experimental evidence that the basic chemical components of life could be generated in a non-living, natural environment.
This was one of the first experiments to support abiogenesis!
Pioneering a new field: It transformed the study of the origin of life from mere speculation into a legitimate, testable field of science called prebiotic chemistry!
In the decades following Miller’s death in 2007, scientists re-examined sealed vials from his original experiments using modern analytical techniques. They discovered that the experiments had actually produced a much wider variety (over 20) of amino acids and other organic compounds than Miller could detect with the technology available at the time!
The fundamental principle that life’s building blocks can form through natural chemical processes under early Earth-like conditions remains widely supported! This essentially means that under proper conditions or ‘stimulation’ you can produce ‘life’ out of even a non living matter!
Then again life is characterized by your feats! Like the feats of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel!
Big salute to one of the true ‘UNIFIER’ of the nation!
Shubh ratri…
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