Although scientists no longer think that the early atmosphere resembled the gases Dr. Miller used, the gases released by volcanic eruptions do have similar properties. . . .
But, Dr. Bada said, the amount of amino acids that could have rained from the skies is still unclear, and the tidal pools would have been a place where the amino acids could have accumulated in concentrations, enabling more complex reactions to occur.
[Link: Vials From Miller-Urey Experiment Offer New Hints on Origin of Life - NYTimes.com]
Translation: we are as confused as ever about the origin of life, but this gives us wider paths to stumble around in.
Please pardon my cynicism as a non-specialist, but I do have a hard time conceiving of volcanic eruptions producing sufficient concentrations of amino acids in tidal pools that would have enabled life to get started—even apart from such trivial problems as needing:
- chemical stability so that the amino acids could last a while
- a cell membrane or wall (is there such a thing as life without a cell?)
- information for replication
- some semblance of organization
- a means for processing energy and conducting respiration . . . .
I mean, has anybody ever actually demonstrated in a lab how concentrations of amino acids might produce life?
No, you need not bother answering. If that ever had been demonstrated, this old Miller-Urey information wouldn’t have made the New York TImes today. We wouldn’t have to stretch that far to find a vestige of a semblance of some “hints” on the mystery of undesigned life.
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