Logo

The Man Behind the Origins of Life

May 23, 2007

Stanley Miller, who pioneered the study of how amino acids could arise from the earth's early, lifeless atmosphere, died of heart failure Sunday at 77. Published in 1953 when he was still in graduate school, Miller's labwork found that several amino acids were formed by pushing an electric current through certain elemental gases, an experiment that simulated lightning coursing through the early atmosphere and creating the basic building blocks of life.

Breaking News
The Scan

Pig Organ Transplants Considered

The Wall Street Journal reports that the US Food and Drug Administration may soon allow clinical trials that involve transplanting pig organs into humans.

'Poo-Bank' Proposal

Harvard Medical School researchers suggest people should bank stool samples when they are young to transplant when they later develop age-related diseases.

Spurred to Develop Again

New Scientist reports that researchers may have uncovered why about 60 percent of in vitro fertilization embryos stop developing.

Science Papers Examine Breast Milk Cell Populations, Cerebral Cortex Cellular Diversity, Micronesia Population History

In Science this week: unique cell populations found within breast milk, 100 transcriptionally distinct cell populations uncovered in the cerebral cortex, and more.