Origin Of Life: Stanley Miller's Forgotten 1958 Experiments, Analyzed
Thursday, June 26, 2014 - 05:50
in Astronomy & Space
An electric discharge experiment simulates early Earth conditions using relatively simple starting materials. The reaction is ignited by a spark, simulating lightning, which was likely very common on the early Earth. The 1958 reaction samples were analyzed by Parker and his current mentor, Facundo M. Fernández, a professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Georgia Tech. They conducted liquid chromatography- and mass spectrometry-based analyses and found that the reaction samples from 1958 contained peptides. Scientists from NASA's Johnson Space Center and Goddard Space Flight Center were also involved in the analysis. read more