1958年的一项未发表的研究的发现表明，闪电、火山活动和有关的气体可能相互反应从而产生了地球的首批生命基本组成单元。
Eric T. Parker及其同事分析了由著名化学家Stanley Miller进行的一项此前未报告的实验得到的样品，Miller通过让硫化氢、水、甲烷、二氧化碳和氨气的混合物接触热和类似于闪电的放电从而模拟的原始地球环境。现代化学分析技术的灵敏度是20世纪50年代研究方法的1000多倍，它在Miller的原始实验残余物中探测到了含硫的氨基酸、蛋白质和非蛋白质氨基酸，以及其他化合物。只存在少量污染。这个有53年历史的研究标志着最早的用放电试验合成含硫氨基酸，它尝试重建地球的原始环境。一旦在古老年代的自然环境下形成复杂化合物，雨水可能把它们分布到潮汐环境中，在那里它们可能发生进一步的变化。
这组作者还研究了两个碳质陨石，这两个陨石都含有与Miller合成实验类似的氨基酸浓度。这组作者说，这些发现提示，特别是硫化氢在化学反应中起到了重要作用，它是地球——很可能还包括早期太阳系的其他地方——生命起源的先驱。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推荐原文出处：
PNAS doi: 10.1073/pnas.1019191108
Primordial synthesis of amines and amino acids in a 1958 Miller H2S-rich spark discharge experiment
Eric T. Parkera,1, Henderson J. Cleavesb, Jason P. Dworkinc, Daniel P. Glavinc, Michael Callahanc, Andrew Aubreyd, Antonio Lazcanoe, and Jeffrey L. Badaa,2
Abstract
Archived samples from a previously unreported 1958 Stanley Miller electric discharge experiment containing hydrogen sulfide (H2S) were recently discovered and analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography and time-of-flight mass spectrometry. We report here the detection and quantification of primary amine-containing compounds in the original sample residues, which were produced via spark discharge using a gaseous mixture of H2S, CH4, NH3, and CO2. A total of 23 amino acids and 4 amines, including 7 organosulfur compounds, were detected in these samples. The major amino acids with chiral centers are racemic within the accuracy of the measurements, indicating that they are not contaminants introduced during sample storage. This experiment marks the first synthesis of sulfur amino acids from spark discharge experiments designed to imitate primordial environments. The relative yield of some amino acids, in particular the isomers of aminobutyric acid, are the highest ever found in a spark discharge experiment. The simulated primordial conditions used by Miller may serve as a model for early volcanic plume chemistry and provide insight to the possible roles such plumes may have played in abiotic organic synthesis. Additionally, the overall abundances of the synthesized amino acids in the presence of H2S are very similar to the abundances found in some carbonaceous meteorites, suggesting that H2S may have played an important role in prebiotic reactions in early solar system environments.
