Miller put together ammonia, hydrogen, methane, and water into a closed system, heated the water, and passed an electrical discharge through it to simulate lightning. In a few weeks Miller’s system produced 13 of the 21 amino acids required for life. He dramatically changed the course of how we see life in the universe.

In his 1952 experiment, within the laboratory of University of Chicago chemist Harold C. Urey, Miller was the first scientist to demonstrate that organic molecules could be artificially generated in a laboratory flask. His pioneering experiment in exobiolgory simulated the early atmosphere of Earth—what eventually lead to the complex array of life forms now seen all around us.

His experiment was based on the work of Urey who suggested in 1951 that the early atmosphere of the Earth probably contained high amounts of methane, ammonia, hydrogen, and water, but most likely was devoid of oxygen.

His success have prompted scientists to increase the search for life such as scientific probes now investigating the planet Mars within our solar system and large ground-based and orbiting telescopes peering outside of our solar system to distant exosolar planets (exoplanets) circling faraway stars.

On May 15, 1953, Miller published his results in the journal Science.

Soon afterwards, U.S. astronomer Carl Sagan said of Miller’s paper, it is “the single most significant step in convincing many scientists that life is likely to be abundant in the cosmos”.

Miller was born on March 7, 1930 in Oakland, California. He completed his bachelor’s degree at the University of California in 1951, and received his doctorate (in chemistry) from the University of Chicago in 1954. He spent most of his professional life at the University of California, San Diego. He was considered an expert in the field of exobiology (the study of life in space).

An interview conducted with Stanley Miller is found at: http://www.accessexcellence.org/WN/NM/miller.html.

More information about Primordial Soup is found at: http://www.accessexcellence.org/WN/SUA02/primordial_soup.html.

The website of Dr. Miller at the University of California, San Diegeo, is found at: http://exobio.ucsd.edu/miller.htm.

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