The discussion centers around simulations related to the origins of life, specifically focusing on whether life can emerge naturally from early Earth conditions. Participants explore various historical experiments and contemporary research efforts in this area, including computational models and theoretical approaches.
Participants do not reach a consensus on the specific simulation being referenced. Multiple competing views and references to different experiments and models remain present throughout the discussion.
Some claims rely on specific definitions of life and abiogenesis, and the discussion includes various assumptions about the capabilities of simulations and historical experiments. The relevance of the Miller-Urey experiment to the original inquiry is debated without resolution.
Danger mentioned that, and although it was interesting, its not what I was looking for. I was talking about a simulation run on a supercomputer. Its strange no nobody else knows about it. Maybe I misunderstood some article or the writer misunderstood a scientist!jim mcnamara said:It is the Miller-Urey experiment you probably looking for.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miller–Urey_experiment
Shyan said:Another question. How amino acids can form life?
Shyan said:I remember, a year or two ago, reading about a group which were simulating the early times of Earth's creation and they wanted to see whether life naturally pops out in it. But now I can't find it again or any other news from that group. Does anyone know about such a simulation?
Chemical understanding is driven by the experimental discovery of new compounds and reactivity, and is supported by theory and computation that provide detailed physical insight. Although theoretical and computational studies have generally focused on specific processes or mechanistic hypotheses, recent methodological and computational advances harken the advent of their principal role in discovery. Here we report the development and application of the ab initio nanoreactor—a highly accelerated first-principles molecular dynamics simulation of chemical reactions that discovers new molecules and mechanisms without preordained reaction coordinates or elementary steps. Using the nanoreactor, we show new pathways for glycine synthesis from primitive compounds proposed to exist on the early Earth, which provide new insight into the classic Urey–Miller experiment. These results highlight the emergence of theoretical and computational chemistry as a tool for discovery, in addition to its traditional role of interpreting experimental findings.