When the Miller-Urey experiment is run with an atmosphere consisting only
of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and water vapor, no amino acids are
produced.
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:
The claim is false. Such an atmosphere does give rise to amino
acids (Schlesinger and Miller 1983).
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.
