Claim CB035.3:

When the Miller-Urey experiment is run with an atmosphere consisting only of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and water vapor, no amino acids are produced.

Source:

Discovery Institute. 2003. A preliminary analysis of the treatment of evolution in biology textbooks currently being considered for adoption by the Texas State Board of Education. http://www.discovery.org/articleFiles/PDFs/TexasPrelim.pdf, p. 5.

Response:

  1. The claim is false. Such an atmosphere does give rise to amino acids (Schlesinger and Miller 1983).

Links:

Gishlick, Alan D. n.d. Icons of evolution? Miller-Urey experiment. http://www.ncseweb.org/icons/icon1millerurey.html

References:

  1. Schlesinger, G. and S. L. Miller. 1983. Prebiotic synthesis in atmospheres containing CH4, CO, and CO2. I. Amino acids. Journal of Molecular Evolution 19(5): 376-382.

Further Reading:

Ellington, Andrew D. and Matthew Levy. 2003. Gas, discharge, and the Discovery Institute. Reports of the National Center for Science Education 23(3-4): 39-40.
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created 2003-11-17, modified 2004-9-16