Miller, Stanley

History

In 1953, the young chemist, Stanley Miller (1930–2007), published in Science a paper entitled “A production of Amino Acids Under Possible Primitive Earth Conditions.” His work was based on Harold Urey’s assumption about the reducing composition of the primitive atmosphere as well as on Oparin’s and Bernal’s previous suggestions.

In an apparatus built to circulate a mixture of CH₄, NH₃, H₂O, and H₂ exposed to electric discharges during 1 week, he noticed the production of amino acids (glycine, α alanine, and β alanine).

Miller’s paper constituted one of the most important events in the history of the researches on the origins of life. Miller’s result found an important audience in the scientific community as well as in the public opinion. His discovery was said to be the first step of the process of origins of life in earth.

Along with Urey, Miller’s was considered as one of the main inventors of prebiotic chemistry. During at least two decades, his work influenced conceptions...