Abstract
The field of prebiotic chemistry effectively began with a publicationin Science 50 years ago by Stanley L. Miller on the spark discharge synthesis of amino acids and other compounds using a mixture of reduced gases that were thought to represent the components of the atmosphere on the primitive Earth. On the anniversary of this landmark publication, weprovide here an accounting of the events leading to the publication of the paper. We also discuss the historical aspects that lead up to the landmark Miller experiment.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
References
Baudisch, O.: 1913, Angew. Chem. 26, 612–616.
Butlerow, A.: 1861a, Liebig's Ann. Chem. 120, 295–296
Butlerow, A.: 1861b, Compt. Red. Acad. Sci. 53, 145–147
Garrison, W. M., Morrison, D. C., Hamilton, J. G., Benson, A. A. and Calvin, M.: 1951, Science 114, 416.
Herrera, A. L.: 1942, Science 96, 14.
Klages, A.: 1903, Ber. Dtsch Chem. Ges. 36, 1506.
Ling, A. R. and Nanji, D. R.: 1922, Biochem. J. 16, 702.
Lob, W.: 1913, Ber. Dtsch Chem. Ges. 46, 684.
Miller, S. L.: 1953, Science 117, 528.
Miller, S. L.: 1954, Ph.D. Thesis, University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill, pp. 112.
Miller, S. L.: 1955, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 77, 2351–2361
Miller, S. L.: 1974, in J. Neyman (ed.), 'Pleasing to the Mind', The MIT press, Cambridge MA, pp. 228–242.
Oparin, A. I.: 1938, The Origin of Life, MacMillan, New York.
Sanger, F. and Thompson, E. O. P.: 1953, Biochem. J. 53, 353–366.
Rabinowitch, E. I.: 1945, Photosynthesis, Vol. I, Interscience, New York, pp. 61–98.
Ruse, M.: 1999, Mystery of Mysteries: Is Evolution a Social Construction?, Harvard University Press, Cambridge.
Stent, G.: 1969, The Coming of the Golden Age, Natural History Press, Garden City, NY.
Strecker, A.: 1850, Liebigs Ann. Chim. 75, 27–31.
Urey, H. C.: 1952, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 38, 351–363.
Watson, J. D. and Crick, F. H. C.: 1953, Nature 171, 737.
Wilde, K. A., Zwolinski, B. J. and Parlin, R. B.: 1956, Science 118, 43–44.
Wöhler, F.: 1828, Ann. Physik 12, 253.
Wolfe, A. J.: 2002, ISIS 93, 183.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lazcano, A., Bada, J.L. The 1953 Stanley L. Miller Experiment: Fifty Years of Prebiotic Organic Chemistry. Orig Life Evol Biosph 33, 235–242 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024807125069
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024807125069
- prebiotic chemistry
- reducing atmosphere
- Streckersynthesis
- electric discharges