1950's Science and Technology | "A Production of Amino Acids Under Possible Primitive Earth Conditions"

Journal article, Illustrations

By: Stanley L. Miller

Date: May 15, 1953

Source: Miller, Stanley L. "A Production of Amino Acids Under Possible Primitive Earth Conditions." Science, May 15, 1953, 528–529.

About the Author: Stanley Lloyd Miller (1930–) was born in Oakland, California, and received a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Chicago in 1954. The previous year he had produced amino acids by simulating the atmosphere of the primitive earth, a finding that may suggest how life on Earth arose. Since 1960 he has taught at the University of California, San Diego, rising to full professor in 1968.

Introduction

The mystery of the origin of life has fascinated people since antiquity. All cultures, including Western Christianity, have mythical accounts of how a divine being created life. But science was at first no more sure of how life arose than...