Page 476 - Atlas of Creation Volume 3

Today Miller's scenario is regarded with misgivings. One reason is that geologists now think that the
primordial atmosphere consisted mainly of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, gases that are less reactive than
those used in the 1953 experiment. 8
That same year, National Geographic, another well-known scientific magazine, wrote as follows:

Many scientists now suspect that the early atmosphere was different from what Miller first supposed.
They think it consisted of carbon dioxide and nitrogen rather than hydrogen, methane, and ammonia.
That's bad news for chemists. When they try sparking carbon dioxide and nitrogen, they get a paltry
amount of organic molecules. 9

In 1995, Jon Cohen gave an enlightening interpretation in an historic article in Science magazine, saying
that scientists researching the origins of life did not take the "Miller Experiment"' into account. He outlines
the reasons for this as follows: "the early atmosphere looked nothing like the Miller-Urey simulation." 10
Another fact that invalidated the Miller experiment was that the primordial atmosphere was ascer-

tained to be rich in oxygen. This totally undermined both the Miller experiment and other chemical evolu-
tionist scenarios, because oxygen has the special ability to oxidize—that is, burn—all organic molecules. In
the body, this danger is averted by very special enzyme systems. In nature, it is impossible for a free organic
molecule not to be oxidized.

For decades, despite all these facts, the Miller experiment, as we said, was touted as a very important
explanation of the origins of life. In their textbooks, students were told that "Miller showed how organic
compounds can be synthesized," or, "Miller showed how the first cells were formed."
As a result, many educated people are in error in this regard. For example, in some articles dealing with

the theory of evolution, one can read such statements as, "Combining and boiling such organic matter as
amino acids or proteins produce life." This is probably the superstition that the Miller experiment left in the
minds of some. The truth is, such a thing has never been observed. As explained above, the Miller

Contrary to Miller's hypothesis, the primordial
atmosphere was in no way suited to the forma-
tion of organic molecules.

474 Atlas of Creation Vol. 3