Claim CB025:
Stanley Miller's original abiogenesis experiment produced only four of the
twenty amino acids from which proteins are built, and later experiments
still have not produced all twenty amino acids under plausible conditions.
Source:
Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. 1985. Life--How Did It Get Here?
Brooklyn, NY, pg. 40.
Response:
- Miller's experiments produced thirteen of the twenty amino acids used
in life (Henahan 1996). Others may have formed via other mechanisms.
For example, they may have formed in space and been carried to earth on
meteors (Pizzarello and Weber 2004).
- It is not known which amino acids are needed for the most primitive
life. It could be that the amino acids that form easily were
sufficient and that life later evolved to produce and rely on others.
References:
- Henahan, Sean. 1996. From primordial soup to the prebiotic beach: An
interview with exobiology pioneer, Dr. Stanley L. Miller.
http://www.accessexcellence.org/WN/NM/miller.html
- Pizzarello, S. and A. L. Weber. 2004. Prebiotic amino acids as
asymmetric catalysts. Science 303: 1151.
created 2003-5-7, modified 2004-4-26
