Lesson 15.

Classical Experiments That

Led to the Discovery of
First Life
 enumerate classical
experiments that
Objectives 1 explain early life
formation on Earth; and
At the end
of this
lesson, describe how these
students classical experiments
2 proved the formation of
should be
able to: early life forms.
 Several scientists conducted different
experiments that modeled conditions which
may have enabled the first life forms to
evolve.
 Learn about it!

Electrical Discharge
Experiment
● This experiment is by
Miller and Urey.
○ Stanley Miller was a
chemist, while Harold
Urey was a physical
chemist.
Stanley Miller Harold Urey
(1930-2007) (1983-1981)
 Learn about it!

Miller and Urey’s Experiment

• They were able to prove the
formation of amino acids
and carbohydrates from
the mixture of organic
substances.
• The purpose was to explore
the conditions of the early
Earth.
Miller and Urey’s setup
 Learn about it!

Thermal Synthesis
Experiment
● Sidney W. Fox demonstrated
the origin of life in his
experiment using a specific
mixture of pure, dry amino
acids.
Sidney W. Fox (1912-1998)
 Learn about it!

Fox’s Experiment
• After heating the mixture,
an aqueous solution was
formed and cooled into
microscopic globules
called proteinoid
microspheres.

Proteinoid microspheres
 Learn about it!

Fox’s Experiment
• The structures seemed
to be budding, which is
a form of reproduction
seen in some
microorganisms.

Proteinoid microspheres
 Learn about it!

The Protocell Experiment

● Jack Szostak (Born November 9,
1952) built lipid sacs made in fatty
acids and a replicase — an RNA
molecule that catalyzes its own
replication in a test tube.

Jack Szostak (1952-present)

 Learn about it!

Stostak’s Experiment
• The lipid sacs with more RNA grew faster. This suggested
that the early forms of life with just a single gene which is an
RNA gene.

Protocell growth and replication

Key Points

The electrical discharge experiment was conducted by

1
Stanley Miller and Harold Urey in 1953.

2 The thermal synthesis experiment was conducted by

Sidney Walter Fox in 1958.

The protocell experiment was conducted by Jack

3
Szostak.
 Check Your Understanding

Using the Urey-MIller experiment, explain the importance

of each component of their experiment in the simulation
of the early condition of the Earth and the formation of
essential molecules for the creation of life.

1. boiler flask with water

2. electrodes
3. condenser
4. methane, hydrogen gas, water, and ammonia
5. heating burner
 Challenge Yourself

How do you think the

primary components of the
Earth’s atmosphere affect
the formation of the early
life forms on Earth?
 Bibliography
Aleksandr Ivanovich Oparin. 2003.The Origin of Life. Massachusetts: Courier Corporation.

Matthew S. Dodd, Dominic Papineau, Tor Grenne, John F. Slack, Martin Rittner, Franco Pirajno, Jonathan
O’Neil & Crispin T. S. Little. 2017. Evidence for early life in Earth’s oldest hydrothermal vent
precipitates. Nature: 543, pages 60–64.

Larry L. Hench. 2001. Science, Faith, and Ethics.Singapore: World Scientific.

Lisa A. Shiel. 2009. The Evolution Conspiracy, Vol 1: Exposing Life’s Inexplicable Origins and the Cult of
Darwin.Texas: Jacobsville Books.

Sandra Alters. 2000.Biology: Understanding Life. Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Shri Hemant Roy. 2005.Comprehensive MCQs in Biology.New Delhi: Golden Bells.

Rakesh Kumar Rastogi. 2007. Concepts of Biology XII. New Delhi: Rastogi Publications.
 Photo Credits

Slide 9: Nobel_Laureate_Jack_W._Szostak_(Medicine).jpg by US Embassy Sweden, is licensed under CC BY

2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
 Bibliography
Peter J. Russell, Paul E Hertz, and Beverly McMillan. 2016. Biology: The Dynamic Science, Boston:
Cengage Learning.

Jason P. Schrum, Ting F. Zhu, and Jack W. Szostak. 2010. The Origins of Cellular Life. Cold Spring Harbor
Perspectives Biology.