The Problem of Complexity

One of the most famous, and often referenced, experiments for the natural origin of life is known as the Miller-Urey Experiment. Essentially, Stanley Miller and Harold Urey attempted to recreate the chemical conditions they believed existed on the early Earth by generating a spark (simulating lightening) into a sealed array of glass tubes filled with methane, ammonia, and hydrogen (simulating the atmosphere) and water (simulating the ocean).

After a week or so, the scientists discovered several types of amino acids - the building blocks of proteins - including most of those needed for life. Additonally, sugars, lipids, and some of the other building blocks cells and nucleic acids were formed, however, DNA and RNA were not.

A few years later, John Oro discovered amino acids could be made from a solution of hydrogen cyanide, ammonia and water. His experiment also produced a large amount of adenine - a DNA base nucletoide.

Although proponents claim these and other experiments like them prove life originated on the early earth under natural conditions - without intelligence - in reality, the experiments provided compelling evidence for the opposite conclusion: that life is far too complex to evolve naturally.

For example, equal quantities of both right-and left-handed organic molecules (Chirlaity) were consistently produced by the Urey/Miller experient. In reality, nearly all amino acids found in left handed and almost carbohydrates are right handed.

If the handedness is incorrect, cells will not form because DNA will not stabilize and store hereditary information in its double helix.

Additonally, while scientists believe lightning storms were common on the early Earth, they were not continuous as the Miller/Urey experiment portrayed.

Thus, while amino acids and other organic compounds were formed, in the prebiotic Earth, they would not have been formed in the amounts produced by these experiments.

Scientist Paul Davies in a 1999 article in New Scientist sums it up nicely: "Making the building blocks of life is easy—amino acids have been found in meteorites and even in outer space. But just as bricks alone don’t make a house, so it takes more than a random collection of amino acids to make life. Like house bricks, the building blocks of life have to be assembled in a very specific and exceedingly elaborate way before they have the desired function." (Davies, Paul. 1999. Life force. New Scientist. 163(2204): 27–30.)

Next: The key to life is information.