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Index to Creationist Claims,  edited by Mark Isaak,    Copyright © 2005
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Claim CB026:

Miller-Urey type experiments produce toxic chemicals, such as cyanide and formaldehyde, but not amino acids.

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. Cyanide and formaldehyde are necessary building blocks for important biochemical compounds, including amino acids (Abelson 1996). They are not toxins in this context.

  2. Miller-Urey experiments produce amino acids among other chemical compounds (Kawamoto and Akaboshi 1982; Schlesinger and Miller 1983).

References:

  1. Abelson, P. 1996. Chemical events on the primitive earth. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA 55: 1365-1372.
  2. Kawamoto, K. and M. Akaboshi. 1982. Study on the chemical evolution of low molecular weight compounds in a highly oxidized atmosphere using electric discharges. Origins of Life 12(2): 133-141.
  3. 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