What Was The Miller-Urey Experiment?

The Miller-Urey experiment was the first attempt to scientifically explore ideas about the origin of life. Stanley Miller simulated conditions thought be common on the ancient Earth. The purpose was to test the idea that the complex molecules of life (in this case, amino acids) could have arisen on our young planet through simple, natural chemical reactions.

The experiment was a success in that amino acids, the building blocks of life, were produced during the simulation. The finding was so significant that it kick started an entirely new field of study: Prebiotic Chemistry.

Scientists now have reason to believe that the gases used in the Miller-Urey simulation were not actually the same as those of the ancient atmosphere. Because of this, many experiments have since been done, testing a wide variety of atmospheres and different environmental conditions. The results are overwhelming: the molecules of life can form under a wide variety of ancient Earth-like conditions.

Many questions about the origin of life remain to be answered but these findings give strong support to the idea that the first living cells on Earth may have emerged from natural chemical reactions.

Sources:

The Miller-Urey Experiment (actual paper from 1953):

Biomolecules found in meteorites:

Biomolecules form in asteroid simulations:

Biomolecules form in Volcanic Simulations:

Biomolecules (amino acids) form in non-reducing atmosphere simulations:

Sealed chemical vials from some origional Miller experiments were recently re-examined with modern tools. All kinds of great things were found!

CORRECTIONS:

#originoflife #chemistry #darwin

[borkly]

Here are some notes I made on this video if any of y'all need

• The idea of rats and maggots suddenly appearing to eat rotten food was called spontaneous generation. This idea stated a new scientific fact: “life must come from life”.
• Darwin wrote that it could be possible to create life from non-living materials, these non-living materials are light, heat, electricity, etc. inside a chemical soup.
• Alexander Oparin elaborated on this idea further by creating a step-by-step process of how it could happen (Simple Molecules to Molecules of Life (Biomonomers) to Macromolecules to Polymer Complexes to Metabolic Networks to Living Cells). He imagined all of these chemical reactions would happen inside a primordial soup.
• These ideas were just speculation and needed scientific proof to be considered true science. Stanley Miller had an idea to prove these theories correct, he thought he could simulate the early Earth stages and observe what happened in the water to see the outcome. Harold Urley worked with Miller to complete this experiment.
• They modeled tubes of water to fit the conditions of the ancient ocean and boiled it to mimic evaporation. They also added water vapor & other gasses like Methane, Hydrogen, & Ammonia, to simulate the Earth’s atmosphere. Also, they added a condenser to cool down the atmosphere, simulating rainfall. Then, they added sparks to simulate lightning in the atmosphere. This test was used to see if Oparin’s first steps in his step-by-step hypothesis was true.
• After a week of the experiment being observed, the water turned black, and it was filled with complex molecules created by chemical reactions. This proved his first step in his theory correct.
• This experiment was such a breakthrough that a new field of science research was created called ‘Prebiotic Chemistry’. This science was researching other methods of how complex molecules could’ve been created.

[michaelf]

When I was choosing a grad school in chemistry (so, mid-90s), I called Dr Miller, (then at U Cal, San Diego) and discussed options about studying under him. I went a different way, though. Great professor.

Dr Urey, of course, was best known for the discovery of deuterium, for which he won the 1934 Nobel Prize.

[JessMcNicholl]

Wow, this is so much better than my online study course. A sentence literally said: You are made up of large molecules built from smaller molecules produced through digestion of larger molecules to form those smaller molecules which are then used to make up required larger molecules using a template.

Bloody hell.

[amirmiah]

this channel is so underrated. I mean which person goes through hard work like making an animation and doing so much research for one video.
this guy deserves a million subs.

[zarinawillows]

This is the MOST underrated edu channel on this
You wait until this is the most subscribed channel on YouTube looking at the amount of work put into these videos ....

[Skyedancer]

I’m in AP Biology right now as a Sophomore, and my teacher gave us this video to watch and take notes on. It explains the experiment so much better than she did, so thanks for making this!

[marcopohl]

"sugars have even been found on meteorites" sweet! literally :D Edit: I made a pun, why are you discussing the validity of this theory here, and not in a comment threat that is actually about that?

[FinflazodeTurroai]

Just love your clips. Graphics, clear exposition, all. Keep up with the good work.

[cernunnos_lives]

I'm not sure you realize how many people you are affecting. My little nephew loves this channel. I love this channel.

[Kami]

This channel should have way more subscribers

[rachidaachich]

One simply does not say this video is sponsored by NASA.

[TheySchlendrian]

Im a PTA student in a vocational college in germany, today in my first lesson of botany my teacher told us to watch a video like this, this maybe the most fascinating homework i ever done in my life.

[Turandot]

This is one fantastic channel. My thanks to whomever is behind it.

[luckybreeku]

My mother language is hungarian, but i swear that this video made me understand it better in english than any other hungarian viedos i viewed online!

[stafgruglnioe]

wow this is so fascinating if you think about it. All probably started like this and today I am sitting at a table that is produced by a machine, using my computer to communicate via the internet about things like that... Overwhelming!!

[ettyvro]

Thanks for doing this video. I read the slides and informations about the Miller-Urey exeriment, and just couldn't understand it in simple terms. You made it so easy to understand. I could do the disscussion that my teacher wanted me to do with ease and am feeling pretty good on what I will get on it. Thanks.

[AstroAestheics]

This is genuinely exciting, I had no idea about this and I'm glad I now know about this and I can't wait to see any future developments in prebiotic chemistry

[FuchsDanin]

This is an excellent video, thank you for creating it --nearly a decade ago--. I found this because MinuteEarth randomly mentioned something I didn't fully understand. I feel like I know enough to share a basic summary to get someone interested. It's amazing to find you still creating, and I've subscribed and intend to browse around your videos randomly. Keep up the good work.

[Avm]

Even if we imagine that polymers were able to form on early Earth, this still leaves us with the question of how the polymers would have become self-replicating or self-perpetuating, meeting the most basic criteria for life.

[cosmopolitan]

What I like most of this channel is its ending.
"This is stated clearly"