It’s safe to assume that anyone who survived a biology class in high school heard of the Miller-Urey experiment, which confirmed the hypothesis that the chemistry of life could have originated in the Earth’s primordial atmosphere. It’s actually “lightning in a bottle,” a closed-loop glass setup that mixes gases like methane, ammonia, hydrogen, and water with a pair of electrodes to provide a spark that simulates flashes of lightning in the sky before early life. [Miller] and [Urey] have shown that amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) can be prepared under pre-life conditions.
        Fast forward 70 years and Miller-Urey is still relevant, perhaps even more so as we extend our tentacles into space and find conditions similar to early Earth. This modified version of Miller-Urey is an attempt by citizen science to update a classic experiment to keep up with these observations, and also, perhaps, just enjoy the fact that there is almost nothing in your own garage that could cause the chemical reaction of life.
        [Markus Bindhammer's] setup is similar in many ways to [Miller's] and [Urey's] setup, but the main difference is the use of plasma as a power source rather than a simple electrical discharge. [Marcus] did not elaborate on his rationale for using plasma, other than that the temperature of the plasma is high enough to oxidize the nitrogen inside the device, thus providing the necessary oxygen-deficient environment. The plasma discharge is controlled by a microcontroller and MOSFETs to prevent the electrodes from melting. Also, the raw materials here are not methane and ammonia, but a solution of formic acid, because the spectral signature of formic acid was found in space and because it has an interesting chemical composition that can lead to the production of amino acids.
        Unfortunately, although the equipment and experimental procedures are quite simple, quantifying the results requires specialized equipment. [Markus] will send his samples in for analysis, so we don’t know what the experiments will show yet. But we love the setting here, which shows that even the greatest experiments are worth repeating because you never know what you’ll find.
        It seemed that Miller’s experiment would lead to very important new discoveries. More than 40 years later, near the end of his career, he indicated that this did not happen as he had hoped or expected. We have learned a lot along the way, but so far we are far from a true natural phenomenon. Some people will tell you otherwise. Check out their materials.
        I taught Miller-Urey in college biology classes for 14 years. They were just a little ahead of their time. We’ve just discovered tiny molecules that can build the building blocks of life. Proteins have been shown to be able to generate DNA and other building blocks. In 30 years, we will know most of the history of biological origins, until a new day arrives – a new discovery.
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