Primordial Soup Theory

The Primordial Soup Theory suggest that 3.8 billion to 3.55 billion years ago life began in a
pond or ocean as a result of the combination of chemicals from the atmosphere and some form
of energy to make amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, which would then evolve into the
first species on Earth.

Primordial soup is a term introduced by the Soviet biologist Alexander Oparin. In 1924, he
proposed the theory of the origin of life on Earth through the transformation, during the gradual
chemical evolution of molecules that contain carbon in the primordial soup. Biochemist Robert
Shapiro has summarized the "primordial soup" theory of Oparin and Haldane in its "mature
form" as follows:

1. The early Earth had a chemically reducing atmosphere.

2. This atmosphere, exposed to energy in various forms, produced simple organic compounds
("monomers").

3. These compounds accumulated in a "soup", which may have been concentrated at various
locations (shorelines, oceanic vents etc.).

4. By further transformation, more complex organic polymers - and ultimately life - developed in
the soup.

Whether the mixture of gases used in the Miller-Urey experiment truly reflects the atmospheric
content of early Earth is a controversial topic. Other less reducing gases produce a lower yield
and variety. It was once thought that appreciable amounts of molecular oxygen were present in
the prebiotic atmosphere, which would have essentially prevented the formation of organic
molecules; however, the current scientific consensus is that such was not the case.
One of the most important pieces of experimental support for the "soup" theory came in 1953. A
graduate student, Stanley Miller, and his professor, Harold Urey, performed an experiment that
demonstrated how organic molecules could have spontaneously formed from inorganic
precursors, under conditions like those posited by the Oparin-Haldane Hypothesis. The now-
famous "Miller-Urey experiment" used a highly reduced mixture of gases - methane, ammonia
and hydrogen - to form basic organic monomers, such as amino acids. This provided direct
experimental support for the second point of the "soup" theory, and it is around the remaining
two points of the theory that much of the debate now centers.

Apart from the Miller-Urey experiment, the next most important step in research on prebiotic
organic synthesis was the demonstration by Joan Oro that the nucleic acid purine base,
adenine, was formed by heating aqueous ammonium cyanide solutions.

In support of abiogenesis in eutectic ice, more recent work demonstrated the formation of s-
triazines (alternative nucleobases), pyrimidines (including cytosine and uracil), and adenine
from urea solutions subjected to freeze-thaw cycles under a reductive atmosphere (with spark
discharges as an energy source).

The spontaneous formation of complex polymers from abiotically generated monomers under
the conditions posited by the "soup" theory is not at all a straightforward process. Besides the
necessary basic organic monomers, compounds that would have prohibited the formation of
polymers were formed in high concentration during the Miller-Urey and Oro experiments. The
Miller experiment, for example, produces many substances that would undergo cross-reactions
with the amino acids or terminate the peptide chain.

More fundamentally, it can be argued that the most crucial challenge unanswered by this theory
is how the relatively simple organic building blocks polymerize and form more complex
structures, interacting in consistent ways to form a protocell. For example, in an aqueous
environment hydrolysis of oligomers/polymers into their constituent monomers would be favored
over the condensation of individual monomers into polymers.

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The early atmosphere of the Earth was a reducing atmosphere, meaning there was little to no
oxygen. The gases that mostly made up the atmosphere were thought to include methane,
hydrogen, water vapor, and ammonia. The mixture of these gases included many important
elements, like carbon and nitrogen, that could be rearranged to make amino acids. Since amino
acids are the building blocks of proteins, scientists believe that combining these very primitive
ingredients could have possibly led to organic molecules coming together on Earth. Those
would be the precursors to life. Many scientists have worked to prove this theory.
Primordial Soup
The "primordial soup" idea came about when Russian scientist Alexander Oparin and English
geneticist John Haldane each came up with the idea independently. It had been theorized that
life started in the oceans. Oparin and Haldane thought that with the mix of gases in the
atmosphere and the energy from lightning strikes, amino acids could spontaneously form in the
oceans. This idea is now known as "primordial soup."

The Miller-Urey Experiment

In 1953, American scientists Stanley Miller and Harold Urey tested the theory. They combined
the atmospheric gases in the amounts that early Earth's atmosphere was thought to contain.
They then simulated an ocean in a closed apparatus.

With constant lightning shocks simulated using electric sparks, they were able to create organic
compounds, including amino acids. In fact, almost 15 percent of the carbon in the modeled
atmosphere turned into various organic building blocks in only a week. This groundbreaking
experiment seemed to prove that life on Earth could have spontaneously formed from
nonorganic ingredients.

Scientific Skepticism
The Miller-Urey experiment required constant lightning strikes. While lightning was very
common on early Earth, it wasn't constant. This means that although making amino acids and
organic molecules was possible, it most likely did not happen as quickly or in the large amounts
that the experiment showed. This does not, in itself, disprove the hypothesis. Just because the
process would have taken longer than the lab simulation suggests does not negate the fact
building blocks could have been made. It may not have happened in a week, but the Earth was
around for more than a billion years before known life was formed. That was certainly within the
timeframe for the creation of life.

A more serious possible issue with the Miller-Urey primordial soup experiment is that scientists
are now finding evidence that the atmosphere of early Earth was not exactly the same as Miller
and Urey simulated in their experiment. There was likely much less methane in the atmosphere
during Earth's early years than previously thought. Since methane was the source of carbon in
the simulated atmosphere, that would reduce the number of organic molecules even further.

Significant Step
Even though primordial soup in ancient Earth may not have been exactly the same as in the
Miller-Urey experiment, their effort was still very significant. Their primordial soup experiment
proved that organic molecules—the building blocks of life—can be made from inorganic
materials. This is an important step in figuring out how life began on Earth.