1. What is Jeffrey Bada's contribution to the theory of Chemosynthesis?

Jeffrey L. Bada is an American chemist, known for the study of the origin of life. He was Miller's
student, and worked in Geochemistry, Exobiology and pre-biotic chemistry. He also developed Mars
Organic Detector (MOD) that is designed to search for amino acids on the surface of Mars during NASA
missions.

In 2008, Bada reanalyzed the samples of the 1953 Miller-Urey experiment using a high
performance liquid chromatography and liquid chromatography. His results showed the synthesis of 22
amino acids and 5 amines, whereas Miller's mentioned only the synthesis of glycine, α- and β-alanine,
with uncertain aspartic acid and GABA (Gamma-Aminobutyric acid).

In 1958, Miller performed another variation of his experiment, but it was never published. These
unreported samples were analyzed by Bada and discovered 23 amino acids and 4 amines, including 7
organosulfur. Bada detected more than eight times the number of amino acids found by Miller.

References:

- Dunbar, B. (n.d.). "Lost" Miller Experiment Gives Pungent Clue to Origin of Life. Retrieved November
28, 2020, from https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/releases/2011/lost_exp.html

- Parry, W. (2011, March 21). Possible Key to Life's Chemistry Revealed in 50-Year-Old Experiment.
Retrieved November 28, 2020, from https://www.livescience.com/13339-primordial-soup-chemistry-
reaction-amino-acids-life.html

- Yong, E. (2020, June 24). Scientists finish a 53-year-old classic experiment on the origins of life.
Retrieved November 28, 2020, from
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/phenomena/2011/03/21/scientists-finish-a-53-year-old-
classic-experiment-on-the-origins-of-life/

- NASA Astrobiology Institute. (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2020, from

https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/nai/directory/bada-jeffrey/index.html